BJP slams Rahul Gandhi over his reservation remark; 'reflects his political and family DNA'

Reacting to recent comments made by the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi,around reservations on his US trip, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)national spokespersonShehzad Poonawalla, on Thursday (Sep 12), criticised Gandhi, stating that his views reflect his "political and family DNA."

Poonawalla’s comments follow the controversy caused by Gandhi’s statements during his US visit, where he suggested that the Congress party might consider scrapping reservations once India becomes a "fair place," which, according to him, is not.

"Rahul Gandhi has reflected his political and family DNA regarding reservation, on foreign land. He spoke about ending reservations by Ambedkar ji. His family did that. In 1961, Nehru Ji said that reservation was wrong. He had said that it makes people second-class. Rajiv Gandhi and Indira Gandhi opposed the Mandal Commission and its report. Rajiv Gandhi had said that those who are given reservations are fools," Poonawalla told news agency ANI.

"When UPA came to power, with ill intentions, the Congress party conspired to end the SC, ST, and OBC reservations and give them to a vote bank. They did this in Karnataka. It is happening in Bengal," he added.

Poonawalla said that removing reservations would harm communities like the Valmikis, Gujjars, and Bakkarwals in Jammu and Kashmir."Today, when Rahul Gandhi goes abroad and says that reservation will be scrapped, it shows that he is reflecting the political character of his family and party...He should tell us that if he indeed committed to reservation, his ally NC says that Article 370 will be restored in J-K - it means that the reservation provided to Valmiki, Gujjar, Bakkarwal for the first time due to PM Modi will be snatched away and distributed among vote bank. Rahul Gandhi should refute this and sever ties with the National Conference," he added further.

What did Rahul Gandhi say during his US visit?

During his interactionwith students and faculty at Georgetown University in Washington, DC, Gandhi laid emphasis onthe importance of a caste census. He added that 90 per cent of India’s population, comprising OBCs, Dalits, and Adivasis, lacks adequate representation, which he called the "elephant in the room".

"There's an elephant in the room. When we talk about the capture of institutions, businesses, and the media, the elephant in the room is that 90 per cent of India--OBCs, Dalits, Adivasis--aren't even part of the game. That's the elephant in the room," Rahul Gandhi said.

"The fact of the matter is they are not getting participation. The problem is that 90 per cent of India is not able to play...We will think of scrapping reservations when India is a fair place and India is not a fair place. Now, that creates a problem. There are people from the upper caste who say 'What have we done wrong, why are we being punished,'" he furtheradded.

(With inputs from agencies)