Fadnavis on reservation: 'Rahul Gandhi's real face revealed, Congress stopped Ambedkar from entering Lok Sabha'

Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi is under fire for his remarks in the US that when the time comes, the Congress party will think of scrapping reservations. On Wednesday, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis hit out at the Congress leader, saying Gandhi's statement has revealed his party's real face.

"Rahul Gandhi talks about saving the Constitution here and talks about ending reservations there," Fadnavis said while speaking to reporters. "Congress has never given respect to Bharat Ratna Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar or the Constitution. This is the same Congress that twice stopped Babasaheb Ambedkar from entering the Lok Sabha and defeated him through conspiracy. The statement that has come out today has revealed their real face."

The BJP stepped up its attack on Gandhi as Congress made the Constitution and reservation a major electoral issue in the recent Lok Sabha polls. Gandhi's claim that the saffron party may end reservation if it got 400-plus seats resonated with voters in some pockets and that hurt the BJP badly in Uttar Pradesh. 

Speaking at Georgetown University in the US, Gandhi said the Congress will think of scrapping reservations when India is a fair place. "We will think of scrapping reservations when India is a fair place. And India is not a fair place," he told students at the university. "When you look at the financial numbers, then tribals get 10 paise out of 100 rupees; Dalits get 5 rupees out of 100 rupees, and OBCs get a similar number. They're not getting participation."

"The problem is that 90% of India is not able to play. Go through the list of every single business leader in India. I've done it. Show me the tribal name. Show me the Dalit name. Show me the OBC name. Out of the top 200, I think there's one OBC. They're 50% of India. But we're not treating the symptom,” he said. "That's the problem. Now, it [reservation] is not the only tool. There are other tools," he said.

Earlier today, Home Minister Amit Shah launched a scathing attack on Gandhi. Shah said that by speaking about abolishing reservations in the country, Rahul Gandhi has once again brought the "Congress' anti-reservation face to the forefront". "The thoughts that were in his mind eventually found their way out as words. I want to tell Rahul Gandhi that as long as the BJP is there, neither can anyone abolish reservations nor can anyone mess with the nation's security."

Not just the BJP, Mayawati's BSP also slammed the Congress leader. Mayawati said the Congress is conspiring to end reservation and asked people belonging to the deprived sections to be cautious in the wake of his "dangerous" statement. The former Uttar Pradesh chief minister said the Congress never implemented OBC reservation nor conducted the caste census when it was in power. 

"Now it is dreaming of coming to power under its cover (of doing caste census). Beware of this drama of theirs (Congress), which will never be able to conduct caste census in the future," she said on X. "Now also beware of this drama of the supreme leader of the Congress party, Shri Rahul Gandhi, in which he has said abroad that when India will be in a better condition, they will end the reservation of SC, ST and OBC. It is clear from this that Congress has been conspiring for years to end their reservation," she said.