Highlights of the speech of Leader of Opposition (Lok Sabha) Shri Rahul Gandhi. He addressed the ‘Samvidhan Rakshak Abhiyaan’ at Talkatora Stadium, New Delhi on November 26, 2024.

Senior leaders of the Congress Party, brothers and sisters, leaders and workers of the Congress Party, you all are very welcome here, Namaskar.

Narendra Modi and the BJP government organized a function on Constitution Day in the Parliament House today. This is the Constitution of India (showing a copy of the Constitution), I am telling you with a guarantee that Narendra Modi has not read this book. Because, if Narendra Modi had read this book, he would not have done what he does every day. We call this the Constitution and have given it the form of a book.

But this is not a book, it is the thinking of India for thousands of years and the thinking of India in the 21st century, be it the thinking of social empowerment, Ambedkar ji, Phule ji, Lord Buddha, Gandhi ji… it is in it. You go to any state, Narayan Guru ji in Kerala, Basavanna ji in Karnataka, Phule ji, Shivaji Maharaj… in every state you will find two-three names whose thinking you will find in this book.

I want to ask you, is Savarkar’s voice in it (the public meeting said - it is not there). Is it written anywhere in it that violence should be used (the public meeting said - it is not there). Is it written anywhere in this book that a person should be killed, frightened, cut, is it written anywhere in this book (the public meeting said - it is not there). Is it written anywhere in this book that the government should be run by using lies, show me where it is written in it (the public meeting said - it is not there). So, this is a book of truth and non-violence. It is a simple thing that this is the truth of Hindustan (said while showing the copy of the Constitution again) and it shows the path of non-violence.

A few days ago, we started the work of caste census in Telangana and it is not a bureaucratic exercise. For the first time, caste census has been made a public exercise in Telangana. The questions being asked are not being chosen by 10-15 people in a closed room, they are lakhs of people... it includes Dalits, tribals, backward class people, poor general caste people, minority people, everyone and the people of Telangana have designed the census. It is a historic step and what we are doing in Telangana, wherever our government comes, in whichever state, be it Karnataka, Telangana and wherever our government comes in the future, we will do caste census in the same way.

Why caste census, because if we look at the population of India, the whole country knows that there is 15 percent Dalit population, 8 percent tribals, about 15 percent minorities, but no one knows how many people are from backward classes. People say that there are about 50 percent backward classes, some say 55, it is different in different states, but backward classes are not less than 50 percent. No one knows how much it is. So, if you add, 50 percent backward class, 15 percent Dalit, about 8 percent tribals, 15 percent minorities, then about 90 percent of the population of India comes from these classes.

Suddenly the mic goes off - this is what happens, I tell you, whoever talks about Dalits, Adivasis, backward people, poor people in this country for three thousand years, his mic goes off. The mic goes off, have you seen it? When the mic went off, I was told, many people came and said, go and sit down, I said I will not sit, I will stand here, I don’t want to sit. You can turn off the mic as much as you want, I will say whatever I want to say.

Rohith Vemula’s photo is behind us, here, he wanted to speak, his voice was taken away and every day in India, the tribal youth, Dalit youth, backward class youth dreams of becoming an engineer, a doctor, a lawyer, going into the media, becoming an IAS officer. But the truth is that the entire system of this country is pitted against the backward, Dalit and tribal people.

This is the truth, because if it were not so, then in the media we would have seen OBC, Dalit, backward class youth, anchors, owners. There are 200 big companies, Ambani ji, Adani ji, Tata-Birla... In these companies we would have seen Dalit, tribal, backward people in the management, in the list of owners, but no. You will not find a single OBC, a Dalit, a backward class person in the list of owners of the 200 biggest companies of India, this is the truth.

So, you, Dalits, tribals, backward people are told that this country is yours. You have a share in this country. You can progress in this country. But, if we look at the data, this proves to be completely false. Data shows that 90 people run the government of India, distribute the budget. Out of 90, three Dalits, three OBCs, one tribal. Out of 100 rupees, OBC class decides 5 rupees. 5 out of 100, your population is 50 percent, participation is 5 out of 100! Dalit population is 15 percent, participation is one rupee out of 100 rupees. Tribal population is 8 percent, participation is 10 paisa out of 100 rupees. There is a wall standing in front of you and you know it and you understand this thing deeply. Do you understand or not (the public said- Yes Sir). Do you understand properly that there is a wall standing in front of you and Narendra Modi and RSS are strengthening that wall. Wherever they get an opportunity, they put cement in that wall. Earlier there used to be a public sector, they removed it. They privatized everything, strengthened the wall. Earlier there used to be government schools, government hospitals, they removed all of them.

Today, if a Dalit, tribal, or a farmer from the backward class needs any treatment, lakhs of rupees are taken out of your pocket. Whether they are taken out or not, and where do they go, do they go into your pocket? Do they go into the pockets of backward classes, Dalits, tribals? No. They go into the pockets of 25 billionaires. Among those 25 billionaires, tell me the name of a Dalit, a tribal, a backward class person, I am standing here, tell me, tell me one name. Is Adani a tribal, a Dalit, from the backward class? Is Ambani a tribal, a Dalit, from the backward class? Tata, Birla, they are tribal, Dalit, from the backward class? No.

So, all your money is being taken out of your pocket and going to them and I want to say that 5%, 7% poor people of general caste are also included in it. They also get nothing. They are shown empty pipe dreams. 24 hours a day...I have been observing for 20 years, 24 hours a day you are told that there is a place for you, you will get a place. But no, what else is happening, the wall is getting stronger slowly and steadily.

Earlier there was UPA government, they gave MNREGA, right to land, right to food, PESA law - these were the ways to weaken the wall. Today when I look at it, I can say that we did not weaken the wall the way we should have. UPA government did not do it, we did not do it with the strength we should have done it. But we used to try to break the wall. They are pouring cement in the wall, pouring concrete, laying the foundation of a wall.

That is why caste census is needed. You will all come to know from caste census...how many of our people are in media, how many people are in corporate India, how many people are in court, how many in judiciary, how many of our private hospitals, how many of our private colleges and it was just said that this is an X-ray. X-ray is the first step. First of all, we have to find out what the situation is like. We know that Dalits, backward people, tribals, poor general caste people, minorities are suffering, it is visible, everyone can see it.

So, first of all, we have to find out where the fracture is, where the injury has occurred, whether it is a compound fracture or a simple fracture, this has to be found out first and after that data will be available from caste census. This is the 21st century, earlier oil was called black gold, the oil of the 21st century is data and we want data about Dalits, tribals, backward classes and the day our government gets this data, the entire paradigm of development, the way of doing development, the way of thinking about development will change completely. This thinking of development, this approach will become its foundation.

We have started work in Telangana and you will see that when the results of the caste census will come in Telangana, our policy will be made on the basis of the caste census data and BJP is afraid of this. BJP wants 4-5 percent people, billionaires and 4-5 percent people to control India and they have controlled it and they are trying to end it... There are two ways to break this control. One - caste census and second - increasing the reservation to more than 50 percent. So, we are engaged in this.

We did it in Telangana, we did it in Karnataka and wherever our government comes, we will extract data of Dalits, Adivasis, backward classes, poor general caste, minorities and find out what is their share in development, what is their share in the future of India, what should be their share. This is our goal and I am telling you, no matter what BJP does, no matter what RSS does, we will end the barrier of caste census and 50 percent reservation.

I am telling you at the national level, I have said in the Lok Sabha, I have promised there, I have promised on this Constitution that we will pass the caste census in this Lok Sabha. Why- because we want to protect the idea of this Constitution. We want that what is written in it that all the people of India are equal, one person-one vote, equality, fraternity, we are fighting for that and we will complete this work and give it to you.

You held a meeting here, I want you all to spread the message of caste census and 50 percent reservation in every village, every city, every road of India. Wherever you go, you should have only one message, 90 percent of the people in this country are facing injustice, it is happening every day, every minute and the way to end this injustice is to increase caste census and reservation beyond 50 percent.

Thank you!