HYDERABAD: BSP chief Mayawati took a veiled dig at Rahul Gandhi, saying a senior leader of the Congress party is vociferously seeking a caste-based census now but the Congress governments in the past did not accept the demand of OBCs to provide reservation to them on the lines of SCs and STs. She also criticised the NDA government at the Centre for not giving a separate quota to SC, ST and OBCs in the Women's Reservation Bill which was recently passed in Parliament.
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Addressing an election rally at Peddapalli in Telangana on Thursday, Mayawati recalled that those from most backward classes had sought reservation benefits like SCs and STs, from the Congress, which was in power for a long period after India gained independence.
"With a view to getting votes of SC, ST, OBCs, a senior leader of the Congress is now campaigning in his election meetings that caste census should be conducted," she said.
"... These people are talking about caste census (now). When the Congress was in power for long after Independence, people belonging to the most backward class had demanded reservation for them also like SC and ST," she added.
Referring to the reports of Kaka Kalelkar Commission and Mandal Commission recommending reservations for the OBCs, Mayawati said they were not implemented by the Congress.
The BSP leader recollected that her party held agitations seeking implementation of the Mandal Commission report and exerted pressure on the then Congress government at the Centre. But, the grand old party did not accept the report, she said.
She stressed that the people of the OBC community should know that the Mandal Commission report was implemented by the then VP Singh government due to the efforts of BSP and not by the Congress.
Mayawati further claimed that the Central government and most of the state governments are not properly implementing the laws meant to provide relief to the weaker sections from oppression.
The veteran politician accused the BRS government in Telangana of being 'anti-Dalit', citing a case registered against the BSP president in the state.
Similarly, the condition of people belonging to Muslim and other religious minorities does not appear to be very good in the country, she alleged.
The economic condition of the poor among the upper castes is also still "pathetic" in the country, she said.