Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Monday accused the Modi government of pursuing a “conspiracy” to end reservations for SC, ST, OBC and EWS categories by keeping government posts vacant, reducing permanent employment and promoting contractual hiring.
In a post on X, Kharge cited government job vacancies and changes in employment patterns in public sector undertakings (PSUs) to allege that the BJP was seeking to undermine the constitutional safeguards for disadvantaged sections.
“The Modi government has hatched a plan to end reservations through the back door!!
In 2015, there were 4.21 lakh vacant posts in the central government. By 2024, this number has risen to 8.24 lakh. In Railways, there are 2.40 lakh vacant posts. In Defense, 2.41 lakh. In the Home Ministry, 1.10 lakh,” Kharge said.
He also alleged that 5.1 lakh permanent jobs had been eliminated in PSUs, while the share of contractual workers had increased from 19% to 49%.
“In PSUs, 5.1 lakh permanent jobs have been eliminated. The share of contractual workers has risen from 19% to 49%,” he noted.
Kharge said the issue went beyond employment and had a direct bearing on social justice and reservation opportunities.
“The question is not just about employment, but about social justice. Keep government posts vacant, and the opportunity for reservations ends. Sell off PSUs, and reserved jobs end. Convert permanent jobs to contracts, and reservations end,” the Congress president said.
He alleged that the government could effectively undermine reservations without making any constitutional amendment by reducing the number of jobs to which the reservation policy applied.
“To end reservations, it's not necessary to amend the Constitution--just eliminating jobs with reservations is enough. This is the agenda of the BJP, which opposes social justice. Keep posts vacant. Sell off PSUs. Increase contracting. And snatch away the constitutional rights of SC, ST, OBC, EWS,” he added.
Kharge further accused the BJP of seeking to dilute the rights guaranteed under the Constitution.
“The BJP policy of conspiring to end the rights granted by Babasaheb's Constitution has now been exposed,” he said.
(With inputs from ANI)