Increase reservation to 68 per cent, Mallikarjun Kharge urges Centre
Hubballi (Karnataka), May 1 (PTI): Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Thursday demanded that the Centre remove the 50 per cent cap on reservations and increase it to 68 per cent.
Kharge also accused the union government of not being keen on conducting the caste census initially and agreeing after the pressure built by the Congress party.
“I demand that the Centre remove the 50 per cent cap on reservations and increase it to 67 to 68 per cent,” he said addressing a public meeting in Hubballi.
The Congress held the event under the title, “Save Constitution, Save the Country”. The event is also against the price rise.
The party has alleged that the Centre was responsible for the hike in prices of essential commodities.
According to Kharge, the reservation should be increased to 68 per cent in line with the reservation provided by the Tamil Nadu government.
He charged that the Centre was coming on way to increase reservation to 67 to 68 per cent.
The Congress president alleged that the Centre was initially not keen on conducting the caste census.
“The Centre never wanted to even conduct census but we don’t know how good sense prevailed upon them,” he quipped.
He also sought to know why the census did not take place in 2021.
Had it happened then, we would have come to know the condition of the citizens, their per capita income, their salaries, number of jobs created and the number of people who came out of poverty, Kharge noted.
The Congress chief further said, “Now that the BJP-led Centre has decided to conduct it, our hunch is that the central government is not doing the exercise wholeheartedly.”
Kharge set a deadline of three months to conclude the enumeration work.
“You have to do it in three months, then only we will conclude that you are interested in conducting the census. If you fail to do so then we will believe that you are not keen on it,” he said.
He also underlined that he and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had built pressure on the Centre to get it done.
Kharge, the leader of opposition in Rajya Sabha, reiterated his demand for a special Parliament session on the Pahalgam terror strike.
“Explain to us what and why it happened in Pahalgam. Was it due to intelligence and security lapse by the central forces, local police or the Border Security Forces?” he asked.
Noting that terrorists shot dead 26 innocent people, Kharge said the Centre should explain the details of the incident.
He reiterated the demand for an all-party meeting.
Kharge flayed Union Minister Piyush Goyal for his statement that Pahalgam-like incidents would continue to disturb until 140 crore Indians do not regard patriotism as their paramount ‘Dharma’.
“A Union Minister says 140 crore people of the country lack patriotism. If they had patriotism, no one would have troubled us. This is absurd. You mean to say all 140 crore people are anti-nationals? Are you all sitting here are anti-nationals and only BJP people are patriots?” Kharge alleged.
“These people were ready to see the country to the British. They were working for the British but it was only Congressmen who sacrificed their lives for the freedom of the country. It was we who went to jail,” he added.
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Centre spent Rs 76.13 lakh on print media ads for RSS centenary, reveals RTI
New Delhi: The Union Ministry of Culture allegedly spent Rs 76.13 lakh on print advertisements marking the 100-year celebrations of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), according to a Right to Information (RTI) reply.
The information was sought by RTI activist Ajay Basudev Bose, who filed an application seeking details on expenditure incurred by the ministry for advertisements commemorating the RSS centenary.
Bose shared a picture of the reply from the ministry on his official ‘X’ handle.
“It is informed that an amount of Rs 76,13,129 has been spent on advertisement given in various print media by the Ministry of Culture on the occasion of the completion of 100 years of RSS,” the government’s reply stated.
RTI reply shows Min of Culture Govt of India spent a Whopping Rs 76L,13K,129 on Advertisement in Print Media on occasion of 100 yrs of #RSS
— AJAY Basudev Bose (@AjayBos93388306) April 16, 2026
When Everyone knows RSS is Not Registered & Does not Pay any Tax is it justified to spend Tax Payers Money on such Private event??@RSSorg… pic.twitter.com/dW4IUtdNCg
Bose questioned the expenditure in the post X, “when Everyone knows RSS is Not Registered & Does not Pay any Tax is it justified to spend Tax Payers Money on such Private event??”
Reacting to the development, Karnataka’s IT-BT and Panchayat Raj Minister Priyank Kharge also criticised the spending.
In a post on X, he asked why public money was being used for what he described as a “private ideological project.”
"Modi Sarkar spent Rs 76,13,129 of public money on newspaper advertisements to celebrate 100 years of the RSS. Why is Government spending taxpayers money on an unregistered, non-tax-paying organisation to celebrate their centenary?," he added.
Why is public money being used to serve a private ideological project?
— Priyank Kharge / ಪ್ರಿಯಾಂಕ್ ಖರ್ಗೆ (@PriyankKharge) April 16, 2026
Modi Sarkar spent ₹76,13,129 of public money on newspaper advertisements to celebrate 100 years of the RSS.
Why is Government spending taxpayers money on an unregistered, non-tax-paying organisation to… pic.twitter.com/EoZ6Pim3IM
According to reports, the RSS describes itself as a volunteer-based organisation and has stated that it functions as a body of individuals rather than a registered entity.
Founded by Keshav Baliram Hedgewar in 1925, the organisation is marking its centenary year beginning from Vijaydashami in 2025, with the milestone observed on October 2.
