The discussion on women’s reservation Bill in Parliament on Wednesday and Thursday saw the Congress making a bold attempt to woo the Other Backward Classes (OBC). While this is out of line with its instincts, party leader Rahul Gandhi’s sharp and sustained focus on OBC representation is forcing the Congress to take up the cudgels in support.
Mr. Gandhi himself led the charge in the Lok Sabha, accusing the BJP of excluding OBC communities from power. Only three of the 90 Secretaries in the Union government were from the OBC category, he pointed out. In the Rajya Sabha, party general secretary K.C. Venugopal said the BJP’s outreach to women and OBCs was only a drama to win votes. Raising the issue of separate reservation for OBC women within the 33% reservation, he said: “If you are so keen to stand with the OBCs, why don’t you hold the caste census?”
