Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi addresses the party's OBC Leadership - 'Bhagidari Nyay Mahasammelan', at Talkatora Stadium, in New Delhi.
Credit: PTI Photo
New Delhi: Top Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday said it was his "mistake" that he did not know the history and issues of the OBCs earlier and if he had known it then, he would have conducted a Caste Census much earlier.
Addressing the party's 'Bhagidari Nyay Sammelan' of the OBCs here, he said the issues and problems of the OBCs remain hidden and it cannot be easily seen.
"When it comes to Dalits, tribals and minorities, I should get good marks. On women's issues, I should get good marks. But when I look back, I can see clearly that in one thing I was lacking, I committed one mistake -- I did not protect the OBC section the way I should have," he said.
"I have been in politics since 2004. When I look back, I can see that I made a mistake. It was because I could not understand your issues in depth at that time. My regret is that if I had known about your (OBC) history, about your issues, even a little more, I would have conducted a Caste Census right at that time. It is a mistake I made. It is not the Congress party's mistake, it is my mistake. I am going to rectify that mistake," he said.
At the same time, he said it was good that a mistake was made. "Had a Caste Census been done at that time, it would not have been like how it is going to happen now. What we have done in Telangana is a political earthquake," he said.
Attacking Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he said he found him "all show and no substance". It was the media, he said, that had "inflated" the prime minister "balloon" and there was not much substance in him, he said.
"I am telling you, you have given him too much importance, he is not a problem. Earlier, I had not met him, but now I have met him 2-3 times. Now I understand there is nothing. he is all show, no substance," he said while Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said a Prime Minister "who speaks lies cannot do good for the country".
Urging the OBCs and other marginalised sections to unite to take on the BJP, Kharge said, "one needs to have three things -- 'maansik bal', 'manushya bal' and 'aarthik bal' -- in any society to move forward. If you don't have any one of them, you cannot move forward in the country," he said.
Kharge said they went to the people during the 18th Lok Sabha with social justice as the main plank and they got "some success". He said, "but had we got 20-25 more seats, Modi-ji's government would have been toppled," he said.