Ahmedabad, Sep 20 (PTI) Rajasthan Deputy Chief Minister Prem Chand Bairwa on Friday attacked Congress over Rahul Gandhi’s remarks on quota, claiming that the opposition party has been against reservation since the time of the country’s first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru.
Addressing a press conference in Gandhinagar, Bairwa claimed that Rahul Gandhi’s party had always misused constitutional provisions and neglected welfare objectives to achieve its political goals.
The BJP leader’s allegation came days after Gandhi told students at Georgetown University in the US that the Congress would think of scrapping the reservation system when “India is a fair place”, which he said is not the case right now.
“During his recent visit to the US, Rahul Gandhi said his party would remove reservation once they come to power. Gandhi is singing the same tune his party has been singing since Jawaharlal Nehru’s time. Look at the history,” he said.
“The Congress party ruled this country for nearly 57 years and it always misused constitutional provisions and neglected welfare objectives to achieve its political goals. Congress never showed a political will to implement reservation in its true sense,” the BJP leader said.
He claimed that the Nehru government had in 1956 rejected the Kaka Kalelkar report which had recommended quota for backward classes.
In a letter to all the chief ministers in 1961, Nehru had said reservation would bring down productivity. Nehru also tried to end the political and social career of Dr BR Ambedkar by ensuring his election defeats in 1952 and 1954, said the Rajasthan deputy CM.
By scrapping Article 370 and 35A from Jammu and Kashmir, Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave justice to the Scheduled Castes of that region, said Bairwa, adding that it was Modi who gave constitutional status to the National Commission for Backward Classes (NCBC).
“Indira Gandhi had delayed reservation for OBCs by not implementing the recommendations of the Mandal Commission. In 1985, Rajiv Gandhi had also objected to Mandal recommendations and advocated a quota for Muslims, which was against the Constitution created by Ambedkar,” he said. PTI PJT PD NR
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