Cong's history replete with instances of obstructing reservation for SCs, STs, OBC: BJP

New Delhi, Jul 29 (PTI) The BJP on Monday hit back at Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi over his criticism of the government's alleged neglect of SCs, STs and OBC, saying the Congress' history is "replete with instances of obstructing reservation" for these communities.

The ruling party also described the Congress as "anti-Hindu".

The BJP launched a broadside after Gandhi, during a debate on the Union Budget in the Lok Sabha, claimed the sole aim of the Budget is to strengthen the framework of big businesses, political monopoly that destroys the democratic structure, and the deep state or the agencies.

Gandhi also displayed a picture of the halwa ceremony that precedes the printing of the budget, saying there was no Dalit, Adivasi or backward-class person in the photo.

He said 20 officers worked on preparing the country's budget and of them, only one was from a minority community and one from the Other Backward Classes (OBC).

Hitting back at him, BJP national general secretary (organisation) B L Santhosh posted on X pictures of the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation's board members which included Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, former prime minister Manmohan Singh, P Chidambaram, and asked which of them belong to OBC, SC and ST categories.

"Rajiv Gandhi Foundation Board for your perusal. Identify OBCs, SCs and STs for the use of the Congress and its troll army," he wrote on X along with a screenshot of the foundation's website showing its board members.

BJP IT department head Amit Malviya alleged the Congress has been "anti-SC/ST and OBC" since Independence.

"So, Balak Buddhi Rahul Gandhi should know that Congress' history is replete with instances of obstructing reservation for SC/ST and OBCs," he said, adding "It (Congress) is an anti-Hindu party." Malviya claimed Jawaharlal Nehru had written to then chief ministers, "explicitly opposing" reservations for the SCs and STs.

"Not just this, it was the Congress which kept (the) Kelkar Committee recommendation (for Backward Commission) made in 1957 in cold storage until PM Modi gave constitutional status to the OBC Commission in 2018, that too despite Congress' opposition," he added.

The BJP leader said the Congress did not even implement the Mandal Commission recommendations made in 1983.

"Finally, it was a BJP-supported government that implemented it in 1990. Rajiv Gandhi vehemently opposed the OBC quota in 1990," he added.

Between 2004 and 2010, the Congress under Sonia Gandhi tried to "defraud" the OBCs in Andhra Pradesh by giving away a chunk of their quota to Muslims, Malviya charged.

"They even tried to include Muslims under the central OBC quota in 2011, which would have reduced the OBC share in central institutions and jobs," he said.

"More recently, in Karnataka, the Congress has included the entire Muslim community in the OBC list," he said.

Using the 'chakravyuh' metaphor as a leitmotif, Rahul Gandhi on Monday claimed that an atmosphere of fear prevails all around with a group of six trapping the entire country in a 'chakravyuh' he promised would be broken by the INDIA bloc.

Participating in the debate in the Lok Sabha on Budget 2024-25, Gandhi also said the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) will ensure that a legal guarantee for MSP as well as a caste census is passed by the House.

BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla took to X to slam Rahul Gandhi and said, "If hypocrisy had a face! Today, Rahul Gandhi says help MSME, not big business. (He) said during Covid: Help big businesses, not MSMEs." "Rahul Gandhi said 'Chakravyuh' is called 'Padmavyuh' which means Kamal (lotus) formation," he said.

In a swipe at Rahul Gandhi, Poonawalla wondered whether the Rae Bareli MP is aware of the meaning of his father's name Rajiv -- "Blue Lotus". PTI PK PK NSD NSD