Rahul Gandhi Laments UPA's Women's Reservation Bill OBC Exclusion

Rahul Gandhi laments UPA’s 2010 Women Reservation Bill without OBC quota and advocates for future inclusion.

Former Congress party chief Rahul Gandhi expressed regret that the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government in 2010 did not pass the Women’s Reservation Bill, which could have included a quota for women from other backward classes (OBCs). He also asserted that his party, if in power, would successfully conduct a caste-based census.

Gandhi accused the BJP-led government of using its Women’s Reservation Bill as a distraction from the opposition’s demand for a caste census, characterizing it as a diversionary tactic. He highlighted that the Bill’s implementation, if it happens at all, would take a decade due to the requirements for a new census and delimitation exercise, urging immediate action.

@RahulGandhi regrets UPA govt not introducing OBC sub-quotas in #WomenReservationBill

Asked whether he regretted absence of an OBC sub-quota from UPA’s bill, Rahul said: 100% That should have been done then

One needs courage to accept mistake & regrethttps://t.co/MmPBX9XLW2

— Citizen Kishan59🇮🇳 (@Kishan591) September 23, 2023

Representation of OBC

Rahul Gandhi expressed astonishment at the significant underrepresentation of Other Backward Classes (OBCs), Scheduled Castes, and Tribes (SC/ST) in India’s bureaucracy. He challenged Home Minister Amit Shah’s claim that 29% of BJP parliamentarians were from OBC backgrounds, asserting that MPs lacked influence in the legislative process. Gandhi reiterated that only three out of 90 secretaries to the Indian government were from OBC communities, and these individuals controlled a mere five per cent of the budget. He called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who has been identified as an OBC leader, to explain why there were so few OBCs in the government and why their influence on budget allocation was so minimal.

#RahulGandhi regrets for not implementing #WomensReservationBill during UPA’s regime.

Watch!#Congress pic.twitter.com/cg6syboGJI

— Moneycontrol (@moneycontrolcom) September 22, 2023

2010 Bill Regret

Rahul Gandhi expressed remorse over the absence of a separate quota for Other Backward Classes (OBC) women in the UPA government’s Women’s Reservation Bill. He acknowledged the regret and stated that it should have been addressed at that time and will be addressed in the future. The Women’s Reservation Bill was passed in the Rajya Sabha in March 2010 but was not presented in the Lok Sabha due to disputes over the “quota within quota” for OBC women and insufficient support for its passage.

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