“We Will Break the Wall of 50% Reservation Cap”: Rahul Gandhi Renews Push for Caste Census, Slams Agnipath Scheme

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Ahmedabad: In a fiery address at the Congress convention in Ahmedabad, Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, on Wednesday made a resounding call for a caste-based census and declared the Congress Party’s resolve to “break the wall of the 50 per cent reservation cap.”

Citing Congress’s pioneering role in the past, Gandhi reiterated the need for caste-based data to ensure social justice and equitable distribution of resources. “We needed to know who holds how much share in this country’s resources. I told PM Modi in Parliament: you must conduct a caste census. The nation must know how many Dalits, backward communities, and poor people from the general category exist,” he said.

Rahul Gandhi accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) of suppressing the demand for caste enumeration. “They want to hide the reality. But no matter how much you hide it, we will pass the caste census resolution. We did it in Telangana, now we will do it in Delhi and across the country. We will also break the wall of 50 per cent reservation,” he declared, receiving loud applause from the gathering.

Drawing on the Congress’s initiatives in Telangana, where the state government led by the party has already conducted a caste census, Gandhi positioned the move as a national model that will be replicated.

Sharing a deeply personal memory, Rahul Gandhi also recalled a moment with his grandmother and former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, saying:
“I once asked her what people should think of her after she is gone. She replied, ‘Rahul, I only focus on my work. I don’t care what people say after I’m gone.’ That’s how I feel too. It doesn’t matter to me what people think, I only care about doing my job well.”

Turning to the BJP-led Centre’s controversial Agnipath military recruitment scheme, Rahul Gandhi alleged it discriminated against youth from marginalised backgrounds.
“The government tells the youth that if you’re an Agniveer and die in war, you won’t be given martyr status or pension. Those fighting alongside you will receive it, but you won’t. Dalits, backward classes, and the most deprived communities are being harmed,” he said.

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