BJP govt snatching away quota from Dalits, tribals, backward classes: Rahul

NEW DELHI: As the campaigning peaks for the third phase of Lok Sabha polls slated for May 7, the main opposition party Congress on Thursday sharpened its attack on the ruling BJP on several fronts — attack on the Constitution, alleged sex scandal in Karnataka and the issue of ending reservation.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi accused the Modi government of “clandestinely snatching away” reservation from Dalits, tribals and backward classes by “blindly” implementing privatisation, and said his party guarantees strengthening the public sector enterprises and opening the doors for employment.

In a post in Hindi on microblogging site X, Gandhi said the mantra of Narendra Modi’s campaign to remove reservation is -- ‘na rahega baans, na bajegi bansuri’, meaning neither there will be government jobs nor any reservation will be available.

“The BJP government is clandestinely snatching away reservation from Dalits, tribals and backward classes by eliminating government jobs through ‘blind privatisation’,” the former Congress chief said. In 2013, there were 14 lakh permanent posts in the public sector, which by 2023 stood at 8.4 lakh, he said.