Congress leader Rahul Gandhi challenged Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday to remove the 50% reservation limit, promising that if elected, the Congress would increase the overall quota beyond 50%.  Addressing an election rally in Nirmal in Adilabad Lok Sabha constituency of Telangana, he claimed that PM Modi is against reservation and wants to take it away. "Narendra Modiji should tell the country that he will remove the 50% barrier because that is what Congress intends to do," he said. Gandhi claimed that PM Modi never mentions removing the 50% barrier in any of his election speeches.


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The Wayanad MP said that increasing reservation beyond 50% is the most pressing issue before the nation, and that the Congress party has promised to remove it in its manifesto to do justice to OBCs, Dalits, and tribals. The Congress leader reiterated his claim that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) want to abolish the Constitution and the reservation.


"This is an election between two ideologies. On the one hand, Congress is attempting to protect the Constitution, while the BJP and RSS seek to destroy the Constitution and deprive the poor of the rights guaranteed by it," he said, holding up a pocket-sized copy of the Indian Constitution.


"BJP leaders have said that if elected, they will change the Constitution. If the Constitution is changed, reservation will be abolished," he claimed, alleging that the BJP opposes the growth of backwards, Dalits, and tribals. He claimed that Congress had implemented its guarantees in Telangana and promised similar guarantees across India. He stated that every woman from a poor family will receive Rs 8.5K per month. This would be on top of the Rs 2,500 that women in Telangana currently receive each month.


He held PM Modi responsible for rising youth unemployment and claimed that the Congress had promised them 'Pehli Naukri pakki'. He stated that graduates will get jobs, similar to MNREGA.


Asserting that there are 30 lakh government vacancies across the country, he stated that college and university degree and diploma holders will be hired for a year with a stipend of Rs 1 lakh. If the youth perform well in a year, they will be integrated into their respective departments.


He described it as the world's first such scheme, claiming that India will provide the world with the best-trained workforce. He claimed that privatisation of the public sector, the Agniveer scheme, and contract employment were all intended to remove the reservation. He stated that Congress will eliminate the contract system and create permanent jobs.

He reiterated that if elected, the Congress would conduct a caste census, which would transform the country's politics. He mentioned that the backward classes make up 50% of the country's population. There are 15% Dalits, 8% tribals, 15% minorities, and 5-6% poor in the general category. "They are over 90 per cent of the population but they have no place in any institution," he went on to say.