Rahul Gandhi clarifies reservation stance, says 'Will take reservations beyond 50 per cent'

Congress party leaderRahul Gandhi, who is facing backlash over comments seen as opposing reservations, clarified today that his party intends to "extend reservations beyond the 50 per cent limit."

In an interview at the National Press Club in the US, he explained, "Yesterday someone misrepresented my statement that I am against reservation. But let me make it clear – I am not against reservation. We will take reservation beyond the limit of 50 per cent."

This clarification came after comments he made during a discussion with students and faculty at Georgetown University in Washington DC,stirred controversy.

Gandhi had said that reservations would only be reconsidered when India becomes a fair society, adding that it isn't fair yet. He said, "The elephant in the room is that 90 per cent of India -- OBCs, Dalits and Adivasis don't play the game."

Speaking on the need for a caste census, he said, "Caste census is a simple exercise to know how the lower castes, backward castes and Dalits are integrated into the system...Out of the top 200 businesses in India, there is almost no ownership of 90 per cent of the population of India. In the highest courts of the country, there is almost no participation of 90 per cent of India. In media, there is zero participation of lower castes, OBCs, Dalits."

Union Minister Amit Shah reacted to Gandhi’s comments, accusing Congress of fostering divisions based on regional, religious, and linguistic lines.

He added, "By speaking about abolishing reservations in the country, Rahul Gandhi has once again brought the Congress's anti-reservation face to the forefront. The thoughts that were in his mind eventually found their way out as words"

When asked about whether he saw the caste census as a counter to Hindutva politics, Gandhi rejected the idea of it being a "Mandal versus Kamandal" issue. He said, "What we are saying is different than the idea of only reservations. We want to have a comprehensive understanding... first of what's going on, and then we are going to apply a series of policies to correct it... reservation being one of them."

Gandhi also criticised Prime Minister Modi's handling of the China situation, saying, "If you call having Chinese troops in 4,000 sq km of our territory as handling something well, then maybe. We have got Chinese troops occupying land the size of Delhi in Ladakh. I think that's a disaster. I don't think Modi has handled China well at all."

Gandhi denied that the Kashmir issue was blocking India-Pakistan relations, pointing instead to Pakistan's support for terrorism as the real cause. He condemned the October 7 attack on Israel but added that Israel bombing innocent civilians, killing women and children, is equally wrong and must not continue.

(With inputs from agencies)