Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge with party leader Rahul Gandhi.
| Photo Credit: PTI
The Narendra Modi government quickly scrapped a proposal to induct mid-level officials into the bureaucracy through lateral entry to counter the Opposition’s allegations of “ending reservations.”
However, it is clear that Congress would continue to place social justice as the centrepiece of its politics. On Saturday (August 24, 2024), Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, positioned caste census as an essential step of a policy framework that ensures justice.
“For the Congress, the caste census is the foundation of policy making. It is a tool for policy making,” told a packed audience at the Allahabad Medical Association Convention and Rehabilitation Centre in Uttar Pradesh (UP).
Mr Gandhi is now pushing to end the 50% ceiling barrier for reservations, along with his pitch for a socio-economic survey of different communities.
“Neither the caste census nor an economic survey or an institutional survey can be prevented and the 50-per cent barrier will also fall. All of these will happen,” he noted.
The party has also launched a 100-day “Samvidhan Rakshak Campaign” to enrol volunteers to protect the Constitution. But beyond the stated objective, the political goal is to portray the BJP as anti-reservation that would affect the SCs, STs, and other backward classes (OBCs).
Aware of the potential damage, the government not only quickly rolled back the proposed lateral entry hirings but also extended the provision of reservations to the lateral entry route.
“For the Hon’ble Prime Minister, reservation in employment is a cornerstone of our social justice framework, aimed at addressing historical injustices and promoting inclusivity,” Union Minister Jitendra Singh said in a letter to the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC).
Even during her address to the nation on the eve of the 78th Independence Day, President Droupadi Murmu stressed on social justice. “Affirmative action must be strengthened as an instrument of inclusion,” President Murmu said, adding, “Social justice is a top priority of the government, and it has taken several unprecedented initiatives for the welfare of SCs, STs, and other marginalized sections of society.”
The statement not only reflected the union government’s priorities but also an acknowledgment of the political challenge mounted by the Opposition.
In a post on X platform on August 19, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge targeted the government’s disinvestment and outsourcing policies.
He alleged that 5.1 lakh posts from public sector undertakings (PSUs) have been eliminated in the past 10 years due to the BJP government’s disinvestment policy and casual and contractual recruitment has increased by 91%.
Further, he said posts for SCs, STs, and OBCs have decreased by 1.3 lakh by 2022-23.
“The SC, ST, OBC, and EWS posts will now be given to people of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). This is the BJP’s ‘Chakravyuh’ to change the Constitution by snatching reservations,” Mr. Kharge alleged.
