Syndergarh: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday accused the BJP of trying to wrest “Jal, Jungle, Jameen” (water, forest, land) from tribal people. He termed the Jharkhand polls an ideological battle between the Bloc India and the coalition of the BJP and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. The Congress leader claimed that the RSS-BJP’s mission is to “destroy” the country’s constitution, while the Hindu bloc “wants to protect” the country’s constitution.
“Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi calls you ‘vanvasi’ because the BJP believes that land, forests and water belong to the saffron party, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and capitalists. The BJP believes that under its newly coined word ‘development’ Seize tribal lands.
He also claimed that the constitution was under “constant attack” and the Indian group was “making every effort to protect it”. Gandhi claimed that the Congress, if elected, would ensure caste census and remove the 50% cap on reservations. “The Constitution is under constant attack and needs to be protected. We will remove the cap of 50% reservation at any cost. If we come to power in Jharkhand by polls, we will increase reservation to 28% for ST from now to 26% for SC. The current 10% has been increased to 12% and the OBC has been increased from the existing 14% to 27%,” he claimed.
He also claimed that the caste census is “necessary to identify the participation of tribals, Dalits and OBCs in various institutions and wealth of the country”. “When I raised the issue in Parliament, Prime Minister Modi remained silent and later said Rahul Gandhi wanted to divide the country,” the Congress leader claimed.
This is Gandhi’s second visit to Jharkhand after the assembly poll schedule was announced. Voting will be held in two phases on November 13 and 20, and counting will take place on November 23.
