Pune: In a veiled attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday said there was no use of bowing before Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj after scaring people and destroying the Constitution and institutions in the country. The leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha also reiterated the Congress party’s promise to remove the 50% cap on reservation if voted to power, while also alleging that the history of Dalits and Other Backward Classes (OBCs) was not being taught in schools any more.
Speaking at the ‘Samvidhan Samman Sammelan’ in Kolhapur, Gandhi held up a copy of the Constitution, calling it a symbol of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj’s ideas. “There are two ideologies in the country: one which protects the Constitution that talks of equality and unity. This is Shivaji Maharaj’s ideology. The second ideology is the one that is into destroying the Constitution,” he said.
He added, “They get up in the morning and plan how to destroy the Constitution, which is based on the ideals of the Shivaji Maharaj. They attack the institutions of the country, scare and threaten people and then bow before Shivaji’s statue. There is no use of it. If you pray before Shivaji’s statue, then you have to protect the Constitution.
Gandhi’s comments were seemingly targeted at Modi, who had apologised to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and those hurt by the collapse of the Maratha warrior king’s statue in Malvan on August 26 . The 35-foot statue had been unveiled by the prime minister in December 2023.
“They built Shivaji Maharaj’s statue and, in a few days, it collapsed,” said Gandhi. Their intentions were not right. If you built Shivaji Maharaj’s statue, then you have to follow his ideals. Which is why the statue collapsed because their ideology is wrong.”
India’s Constitution is a manifestation of what the warrior king stood for, he said. If people like Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and Shahu Maharaj were not there, the Constitution also would not have been there, he added.
A day after Nationalist Congress Party (SP) chief Sharad Pawar urged the central government to increase the reservation quota for government jobs and education to 75%, Gandhi said removing the existing 50% cap is necessary to protect the Constitution. He asserted that the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) will ensure the passage of laws to this effect in Parliament.
“We will make sure the 50% cap on reservation is lifted in both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, and nothing can stop it. This step is essential for protecting the Constitution,” Gandhi said. He also emphasised that the Congress and the INDIA bloc are committed to enacting a legislation that would pave the way for a caste-based census.
Gandhi elaborated on the need for a caste census, highlighting two key aspects: identifying the population of each community and examining their control over the nation’s financial system. He argued that such a census would provide crucial data on the composition of India’s different communities.
According to Gandhi, 90% of India’s population is being denied opportunities. He claimed that the country’s budget is shaped by a small group of 90 top IAS officers, with only three belonging to the OBC community, despite OBCs making up at least 50% of the population. “Similarly, Dalits and Adivasis, who constitute 15% and 8% of the population respectively, have only three and one officers from their communities among the top decision-makers,” he added.
At the function, Gandhi also said that the history of Dalits and OBCs was not being taught in schools, alleging that efforts were being made to erase that history. “I am sharing my own experience. Maybe your experience could be different. I haven’t learnt that much about the history of the Dalits or backward classes in school. Now, even the limited history that is being taught is being erased,” he said.
“The history of those considered skilled workforces, such as barbers, cobblers, and factory workers, is not there in our education system. There is nothing being told about these classes right from the struggle and the discrimination they face,” he added.
This is Gandhi’s second visit to western Maharashtra in a month, ahead of the assembly elections in November. He had visited Sangli last month to unveil the statue of late Congress leader Patangrao Kadam.
(With agency inputs)