In Jharkhand’s election rally on Saturday, Congress MP and Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi paused his speech briefly in Jamshedpur to show respect for the Azaan after being informed by Jharkhand Health Minister Banna Gupta. Following the two-minute break, Rahul resumed his address, focusing on critiques of the BJP-led Union government and accusing it of adopting policies that harm farmers, laborers, and the economically disadvantaged.
Rahul alleged that initiatives such as demonetization and the Goods and Services Tax (GST) are “weapons to kill” the poor and blamed Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s policies for increasing unemployment across India. He presented the political landscape as a clash between two ideologies, claiming that while the BJP and RSS seek to divide the nation based on caste, religion, and language, the Congress aims to uphold the Constitution.
In another rally in Dhanbad’s Baghmara, Rahul accused the government of using India’s tax system to exploit the poor, contrasting Adani’s allegedly minimal tax contributions with the burdens on common citizens. He also criticized the Dharavi redevelopment project in Mumbai, claiming it favored corporate interests.
Highlighting representation concerns, Rahul emphasized that marginalized communities, including Scheduled Tribes (STs), Scheduled Castes (SCs), and Other Backward Classes (OBCs), lack fair representation in government institutions, despite forming a large majority of the population. Promising reforms, he vowed to increase reservation quotas in Jharkhand: ST reservations from 26% to 28%, SC from 10% to 12%, and OBC from 14% to 27%. He also called for removing the 50% cap on reservations and implementing a caste census to better understand the socioeconomic participation of marginalized groups.
Rahul concluded by asserting that the Constitution needs protection from ongoing challenges, with Congress committed to ensuring policies that benefit the poor and address social inequalities.
