Congress leader Rahul Gandhi challenged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to commit to eliminate the 50% cap on reservation during a rally in Adilabad, Telangana on Sunday, May 5. Accusing PM Modi of harbouring anti-reservation sentiments, Rahul said the BJP's purported agenda is to dismantle reservation policies. "Modi ji is against reservation, he wants to take away reservation from you. Modi ji should tell the country that he will remove the 50% cap on reservation, he never mentioned in his speeches that he will remove the 50% cap on reservation. Congress government will do it," he said.
The former Congress president framed the ongoing parliamentary elections as a clash of ideologies, with the Congress trying to safeguard the Constitution while the BJP and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) is trying to do away with it. "BJP leaders may not end reservation, but individuals aligned with their ideology want to dismantle the Constitution and introduce privatisation instead. We've to come together and bring a government for the poor, the adivasis, and the Dalits," he said.
Highlighting the Congress manifesto's pledge to breach the 50% cap on quotas for STs, SCs, and OBCs, Rahul said the Congress party aims to increase reservations beyond this limit. Accusing the BJP of allowing privatisation within the public sector, Rahul also condemned the implementation of the contract system, which he argued undermines reservation policies. "We will abolish contract systems in government offices and the public sector, ensuring permanent employment opportunities," he said.
The Congress leader said that BJP leaders have stated that if their party wins the general elections, they might make changes to or abolish the Constitution. This, he said, could lead to the end of reservation policies. He further alleged that the BJP desires to keep backward classes, Dalits, and Adivasis, marginalised.