Dharamshala (Himachal Pradesh): Union Minister and Republican Party of India (A) supremo Ramdas Athawale has hit out at Congress leader and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi for his remarks on the reservation.
Athawale, the Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment told reporters here, "When Rahul Gandhi goes out of the country, he makes absurd comments. He has a habit when he goes to England, United States, he makes anti-national comments."
"How is it possible that there is no democracy in our country? There is democracy and so Congress won 99 seats (in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls). If there was no democracy, how could Rahul Gandhi become the Leader of Opposition," asked Athawale, whose party is part of the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA).
"The people have given a mandate and we have won fewer seats. The Opposition is strong, which is a good thing. But this does not mean the democracy is in danger. (Prime Minister) Narendra Modi believes in democracy and those who get the mandate have the right to come to power. Congress was in power for 60-70 seats, was there no democracy? There is democracy in the country. And no leader can make an effort to finish democracy. The NDA government is taking all sections of society," he added.
The RPI (A) chief also condemned Rahul Gandhi's remarks over the reservation. "No one can snatch reservations from Dalits and Adivasis. Rahul Gandhi should not make such comments."
Recently, Rahul Gandhi said at Georgetown University in the USA, "We will think of scrapping reservations when India is a fair place. And India is not a fair place." Gandhi was answering a question regarding the future of reservations in India.
