Ranchi: Leader of Opposition in the Central Government and senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who addressed the Samvidhan Samman Sammelan here on Saturday, said that he will make sure that the barrier of 50 percent cap on reservations will be removed in this country. Along with this, he promised to ensure caste census all over the country so that it can be known who is entitled to how much benefit.
During his half-hour speech at the Samvidhan Samman Sammelan, Rahul Gandhi showed the copy of the Constitution and said that it is under attack from the BJP. He said that it is important to understand how the constitution is the result of the thinking of those great men including Lord Mahavir, Lord Buddha, Guru Nanak who were against Manusmriti.
'BJP wants to convert tribals into forest dwellers'
Rahul Gandhi said that today the BJP people call the tribals as vanvasis and by saying this, an attempt is being made to destroy the history of the tribals and their way of living. "A tribal meant owner. Now by calling him vanvasi, they want to send him to the jungle. Today, you will not find OBC, tribal, or Dalit in top positions in any corporate company", he said. He said that the BJP has taken control of all the institutions.
Rahul Gandhi said that the President belongs to the tribal community and for the first time a tribal person has become the President. "When the new Parliament House was inaugurated, she was told that you are a tribal, you should not go. Ram Mandir was inaugurated with great pomp and the President was told that there was no place for her there. Ambani and Adani were invited there."
The LoP said that Narendra Modi says that he respects Dalits, backwards, tribals but he snatches their power from their hands. "He gives you respect and snatches power from you. The public made him understand in the Lok Sabha elections. Now he is not seen smiling. He has forgotten how to smile. The bank account of Congress was closed. Congress fought the elections without money," Rahul said.
"Theft in the name of GST"
Rahul Gandhi said that 90 percent of the population pays GST and tax is levied on every item. "If Rs. 100 is taken as tax, then Rs. 40 comes out of the common man's pocket. Rs. 26 comes from the biggest companies. The poorest people pay more than 60 percent GST. The richest 10 percent people pay 3 percent of GST. 40 percent of India's wealth is with 1 percent of the people. The poorest 50 percent people have 1 percent of the wealth. If we add the income of the poorest, then the total income becomes about 13 percent. This is not just an attack on the Constitution. People are being robbed," he said.
"Inflation and unemployment at their peak"
In the Samvidhan Samman Sammelan, Rahul Gandhi said that unemployment is spreading and inflation is increasing. "The medium of social x-ray is caste census. We want to know how many people from backward classes are there in this country. How many people are there from Dalit, tribal, minority and poorer sections. Who has how much share in the institutions of India. Who has control over these institutions. That is why I am demanding caste census but Modi ji does not want it," he said.
The LoP further said that if not today, caste census will be done tomorrow. The 90 percent people who are being denied their due have a lot of power and they may not have media, judiciary, bureaucracy support but you have truth on their side, he said.
Apart from Congress national spokesperson Pawan Khera, all the big leaders of Jharkhand Congress were present in this Samvidhan Samman Sammelan organized in Ranchi. During the program, Budhram Munda, Amanat Ali, Anil Jaihind, Dayamani Barla, Theodore Kido, Ali Anwar Ansari, Sarita Kumari Prajapati, Rajesh Gupta and others from OBC, Dalit, tribal and minority groups also spoke.
