Patna: Former Congress President and Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, on Monday intensified his critique of the NDA-led central government while addressing a massive gathering at the Samvidhan Suraksha Sammelan in Patna. He alleged that the BJP government’s policies have systematically marginalized large sections of Indian society, reducing OBCs, EBCs, Dalits, tribals, and minorities to the status of “second-class citizens.”
“If you do not belong to the Upper Caste, you are a second-class citizen of India. It is not baseless. I have studied the system before making this statement,” Gandhi asserted, drawing strong reactions from the crowd.
Reiterating his longstanding demand for a nationwide caste census, Gandhi emphasized, “Only through X-ray – that is, the scientific caste census – backward and deprived communities can get their due rights. Telangana has shown the way; this is the need of the whole country. Caste census will be done in India, we will get it done.”
He hailed the Telangana government’s recent caste-based data collection as a revolutionary step toward social justice, which, according to him, enabled the state to dismantle the 50% reservation cap and introduce more inclusive policies in education, employment, and politics. Gandhi said similar transformative policies can be framed in Bihar using data from its caste-based survey.
Earlier in the day, Rahul Gandhi also joined the Palayan Roko, Naukri Do rally in Begusarai, led by NSUI national in-charge Kanhaiya Kumar, protesting against youth unemployment and migration from Bihar. Urging young participants to wear white t-shirts as a symbol of resistance, he declared, “Let’s come together and make Bihar a state of opportunities.”
In Patna, Gandhi not only attacked the policies of the central government but also took aim at the ideological roots of discrimination. He denounced the ideology of the RSS and freedom fighter Veer Damodar Savarkar, stating that the Indian Constitution embodies the philosophies of those who loved truth – naming Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, B.R. Ambedkar, Savitribai and Jyotiba Phule, Lord Buddha, Guru Nanak Dev, Basavanna, Narayan Guru, and Kabir.
“When you take the Constitution in your hand, you protect an ideology that is thousands of years old,” he said. “It does not contain Savarkar’s ideology because he could not face the truth. Our Constitution is the protector of the truth of Hindustan, and what our leaders learned from the people is in this book.”
Calling upon the people of Bihar to rise once more in the spirit of historical resistance, Gandhi said, “The land of Bihar has always taken concrete steps against injustice – be it the Champaran Satyagraha movement or the revolution of social justice. Today that history is calling out again — against attacks on the Constitution, against partiality and discrimination, for economic and social equality and justice.”
