Rahul Gandhi defines Cong's OBC outreach via his speech on women’s bill

Rahul Gandhi took off from where his mother Sonia Gandhi left.

She set the tone for her party and the Opposition in Lok Sabha on Women’s Reservation Bill on Wednesday with a pitch for a quota for OBC women in her eight minute speech and Rahul took it forward defining Congress’ OBC outreach by demanding Caste Census and attacking the Modi government over perceived dismal representation in top bureaucracy.

In his 15 minute speech during the debate on the Bill, Rahul defined the proposed quota as a huge step in the transfer of power to women but found fault with its approach saying it is "incomplete" as it lacks quota for OBCs.

"There is one thing that makes this Bill incomplete. I would have liked to see OBC reservation in this Bill. I think it is very important that a vast chunk of the population, a large chunk of women, should have access to this reservation. That is missing in this Bill," he said.

He also found it strange that the government wants the implementation of the quota after a new census and delimitation exercise, which he wanted removed and the measure implemented immediately. "So I wonder if this is not designed to push the measure by 7-8-9 years..." he said.

Strongly advocating for Caste Census, a theme the Congress has taken up since at least April last year, he said the moment the Opposition raises it, the BJP tries to create a "new distraction, a sudden event so that the OBC population and people look the other way".

He demanded that the Modi government conduct Caste Census and release the data of the exercise conducted by the UPA government. "If you do not release it, we will release it," he said.

Taking on the Modi government, he asked about the participation of OBCs in central organisations and claimed that only three out of 90 Secretaries, who manage the core of Indian government, are from the OBCs.

"I was shocked and shattered...These three Secretaries together control just 5 per cent of the Indian budget. The Indian budget is Rs 44 lakh crore while these five Secretaries control just 2.47 lakh crore. You don't want to hear OBCs. You are against OBCs. You don't want to deliver justice to the OBCs. The Bill is about transfer of power. Women are one group, OBCs are another group. It is an insult to OBCs," he said.

In April this year while launching the Karnataka election campaign, Rahul had demanded Caste Census and proportional reservation for SCs, STs and OBCs. This was followed by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge's letter to Modi asking him to do Caste Census immediately.

Congress had earlier not supported quota within quota but the Social Justice and Empowerment Resolution adopted at the Raipur Plenary in February this year has said that the Congress “shall ensure its (women’s bill) with appropriate provision for reserved categories within the 33 per cent”.

In May 2022, the party had during Udaipur Chintan Shivir demanded that the women’s bill be passed “as soon as possible and women of every category should get the benefit of proportional reservation”.