NEW DELHI: It is in the DNA of the BJP and the RSS to try and erase reservations, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said on Monday and asserted that his party will not allow doing away with quota.
Taking a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi and RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, he said, "We will not allow reservation to be done away with, no matter how much Modi Ji or Mohan Bhagwat dream of it."
Gandhi's attack on the ruling party came over the BJP government of Uttarakhand contending in the Supreme Court that there was no fundamental right to claim reservation in appointments or promotions in public posts, and there was no constitutional duty on the part of the state governments to provide reservations.
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The RSS and the BJP cannot stand the idea that Dalits, tribals and OBCs have reservations," the former Congress president told reporters outside Parliament.
"They (the RSS and BJP) wake up every morning and this (reservation) irritates them, except it is in our Constitution, and these rights are guaranteed by our Constitution," Gandhi said.
They have attempted to remove reservation in one way or the other, he alleged and cited the examples of the destruction of the Ravidas temple and the government's actions on the SC/ST sub-plan.
"You have seen that they are arguing (in court) that it (reservation) is not a fundamental right. So it is their DNA to try and erase it," Gandhi said.
His remarks come after the Supreme Court has held that states are not bound to provide reservation in appointments and there is no fundamental right to claim quota in promotions.
"Reservation is an important part of the Constitution. The main thing is that there is an assault on the Constitution. All institutions are being destroyed, we are not allowed to speak in Parliament and judiciary is pressured. So institutional structures are being destroyed and the main pillars of our Constitution taken down one by one," Gandhi said.
"We will not allow reservation to be done away with no matter how much Modi Ji or Mohan Bhagwat dream of it," he said.