Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday emphasised that the women’s reservation bill should be implemented with immediate effect with OBC reservation.
He asserted that his party would carry out a caste-based census if voted to power to determine the actual representation of Other Backward Classes (OBCs), Scheduled Castes (SC), and Scheduled Tribes (STs).
“As soon as our government comes, the caste census will be done. The country will know how many OBCs, SCs, and STs are there. This would not be done in a day but our intention is clear,” the Congress MP said.
Gandhi’s remarks came two days after he proposed the census and OBC reservation in the women’s quota bill in Parliament. He also stated that he would like to see the inclusion of Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in the bill.
The Congress MP further asked the Modi government to conduct the caste census at the earliest and to release the caste data collected during the Congress-ruled United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government from 2004 to 2014.
Earlier, Gandhi raised the issue of the representation of OBCs in Parliament and said that he was shocked to find that only three of the 90 Secretary-level officers were OBCs. He further demanded that the bill should be implemented immediately without waiting for a census or a delimitation.
The Congress leader also emphasised that the Congress should have included the OBC quota in the 2008 women’s reservation bill, which passed the Rajya Sabha but was withdrawn due to opposition from allies.
While speaking on the need for a caste census, Gandhi earlier said that only a caste census can provide the correct number of OBCs, Adivasi, and Dalits in the country.
“I have a suggestion for the government. Pass the Women’s Reservation Bill…Get the caste census done as soon as possible…and if you are not doing it, we will do it,” the Congress MP said, as quoted by SRK Nation.
The women’s reservation bill was passed by both houses of Parliament. It was passed by the Lok Sabha on September 20 and the Rajya Sabha on September 21.
