Rahul Gandhi pledges to remove 50% reservation cap, calls for nationwide caste census
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Ahmedabad: Congress leader and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, on Wednesday said that the Congress party is committed to removing the 50% ceiling on reservations for Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST), and Other Backward Classes (OBC) in education and government jobs.
Speaking at a Congress session in Ahmedabad, Gandhi said the party would implement across India what the Telangana government has recently done. Telangana had recently passed a bill raising the reservation for Backward Classes (BCs) to 42%, taking the overall reservation above the 50% limit set by the Supreme Court in a landmark 1992 judgment.
“Telangana has taken a revolutionary step and shown the way to the country. I want to assure you that this 50 per cent wall will be broken. What happened in Telangana, we will do in Delhi and for the entire country,” Gandhi said.
He argued that the population composition in Telangana—where around 90% of residents belong to OBCs, extremely backward classes, Dalits, minorities, and Adivasis—is similar to the rest of the country. Given this, he said, the existing limit on reservations does not reflect social realities and should be dismantled.
Gandhi reiterated the Congress party’s demand for a nationwide caste census, stating that without accurate data on caste composition, it is not possible to ensure fair distribution of government benefits, educational opportunities, and jobs.
He also referred to the Supreme Court’s 1992 ruling in the Indra Sawhney (Mandal Commission) case, which capped reservations at 50%. The Congress has consistently argued that the cap restricts justice for marginalised groups and needs to be re-evaluated.
Earlier this week, during a 'Samvidhan Suraksha Sammelan' in Patna, Gandhi had said, “I told Narendra Modi in the Lok Sabha, right in front of him: if you don't dismantle this artificial 50 per cent barrier on reservations, we will break it, destroy it, and throw it away.”
In Ahmedabad, Gandhi also accused the BJP of having an “anti-Dalit mindset,” referring to a recent incident in Rajasthan, where a former BJP MLA reportedly used Ganga water to "purify" a temple after a Congress leader from a Dalit background took part in a consecration ceremony.
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Maharashtra sets up state vaccination task force to strengthen immunisation programme
Mumbai (PTI): The Maharashtra government has set up a State Vaccination Task Force to strengthen the regular immunisation programme and review the progress of related campaigns, a health department official said on Monday.
The State Vaccination Task Force will comprise at least 29 members and will be headed by the administrative head of the health department, he informed.
The government has also constituted separate district-level and municipal vaccination task forces to improve implementation and address challenges at the grassroots level, he said.
Municipal task forces, chaired by respective civic commissioners, have been constituted in view of the vast urban population in Maharashtra and the role of civic bodies in implementing different health programmes.
The district-level task forces will function under the chairmanship of collectors.
"Complete immunisation of children at the appropriate age is an extremely simple, cost-effective and highly effective measure to reduce child mortality and the prevalence of diseases among kids. Immunisation is a powerful tool for reducing illness in children," maintained the official.
To ensure full vaccination of all children, the state government implements various campaigns from time to time as per the central government guidelines, he pointed out.
"Active participation and cooperation of other relevant government departments are essential (in making these campaigns successful)," according to the official.
The state-level body will review the regular immunisation programme, associated campaigns and vaccine-preventable diseases in detail. It will also conduct focused assessments of high-risk districts and municipal corporations, including vacancies at district, municipal and sub-district levels, availability of cold chain equipment, resource gaps and training requirements, he noted.
The state task force will review allocation and utilisation of funds for immunisation and ensure timely action by officers concerned based on reports from district and municipal task forces and state-level monitoring mechanisms, the official said.
It will also ensure active coordination and participation of other government departments in immunisation drives, while district and municipal task forces will carry out similar functions at their respective levels, the official added.
