‘Government deprived them of power’ vs ‘Why did Rajiv Gandhi object’: Rahul, Rijiju clash over OBCs during women quota demarcation debate

New Delhi: Fierce confrontation breaks out between opposition leaders in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and federal minister Kieron Rijiju During the MP’s speech on the Women’s Reservation Bill.Rijiju intervened when Gandhi in his speech accused the BJP-led Center of trying to shy away from granting power and representation to the OBC.“It is a historical fact how Indian society treats Dalits, OBCs and their women… An attempt is being made here to bypass the caste census. They are trying to avoid providing power and representation to my OBC brothers and sisters and instead take power away from them,” Gandhi said.Rijiju interjected, claiming that Gandhi’s father, former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, opposed OBC reservation both during his time in power and when he stepped down.He also questioned why the Congress party did not grant constitutional reservation to the OBC despite ruling the country for nearly 60 years.“Why was there no constitutional reservation for the OBCs when the Congress ruled the country for more than 60 years? The Congress must answer,” the Parliamentary Affairs Minister said.“When Rajiv Gandhi was Prime Minister – and even at other times – he opposed OBC reservation. Can Rahul Gandhi explain why?” asked Rijiju.Earlier, Gandhi had accused the government of trying to change India’s electoral landscape by linking women’s reservation to delimitation and claimed the opposition would not allow the bill to pass.He made the remarks ahead of the Lok Sabha voting on the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, which proposes to increase the number of seats in the Lok Sabha to 850. While the ruling NDA has a majority of 293 members in the 545-member House of Representatives, a two-thirds majority is needed to pass the bill.