The BJP on Monday asked Congress president Rahul Gandhi to clarify his position on the OBC Bill, pending in Parliament, that seeks to confer Constitutional status to the National Commission for Backward Classes.
The question was raised by Minister of State for Rural Development Ram Kirpal Yadav at a press conference, minutes after Mr. Gandhi’s outreach to the OBC community, where he castigated the RSS for “trying to drive a wedge in the community.”
‘Mandal in deep freeze’
“The Congress party, even after ruling the country for decades, paid no heed to the plight of the OBC community. Today, Rahul Gandhi is expressing his love for them,” Mr Yadav said.
“Despite the Mandal Commission having submitted its report to the government, it was kept in a deep freeze by the Congress for nine years, from 1980-89, when it was in power at the Centre. It was only when a non-Congress government came to power in 1989, with the support of the BJP, that its recommendations were accepted.” the Minister said.
“Even now, the OBC Bill is being blocked by the Congress in the Rajya Sabha. I ask that Rahul Gandhi clearly state, by tomorrow, whether he is in favour of the Bill or not,” Mr Yadav added.
Addressing the presser along with Mr. Yadav, Union Minister for Human Resource Development Prakash Javadekar criticised opposition parties — specifically the Congress and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Sharad Pawar — for making light of the alleged threat to Prime Minister Modi’s life as revealed by some documents seized by Pune police.
“India has lost two Prime Minister’s to brutal assassinations; one would have thought that the Congress would show some sensitivity to that. The remarks by Mr. Pawar, terming it a publicity stunt, are also inappropriate,” said Mr. Javadekar.
The Minister also attacked former Finance Minister P. Chidambaram for his criticism of the Modi government’s handling of the economy.
“Congress party has maintained its record — ‘low development index, high inflation’. However, Modi government has reversed the trend — Development index has increased and inflation has reduced,” he said.
‘NPAs are UPA’s sin’
Mr Javadekar also termed the issue of Non-Performing Assets (NPAs) as the “UPA’s sin” that the NDA government had inherited and was dealing with.
“India, today, has emerged as the fastest growing economy in the world, contrary to what Mr Chidambaram is trying to project,” he said.
