Congress lost trust of Dalits, OBCs in the 1990s, says Rahul Gandhi

If the Congress had managed to inspire confidence of Dalits and the Backward Classes in the past 10-15 years, then the RSS would never have come to power, he says

Congress leader and Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi said on Thursday (January 30, 2025) that if his party had managed to inspire the confidence of the Dalits and the Backward Classes in the past 10 to 15 years, then the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) would never have come to power.

Interacting with Dalit influencers at the “Vanchit Samaj: Dasha aur Disha” programme, Mr. Gandhi said he did not have any hesitation in admitting that the Congress party did not protect the interests of the Dalits and the Backward Classes the way it should have in the 1990s.

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Contrasting the 1990s with the period under the leadership of Indira Gandhi, Mr. Gandhi said Dalits, Adivasis, minorities and Backward Classes had had “full confidence” under her leadership.

When a member of the audience mentioned former Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao as being responsible for the decline of the party among Dalits and the Backward Classes, Mr. Gandhi said, “I will not name anyone, but this is the reality and the Congress party has to accept that there were shortcomings.”

He also said that once the “original base” of the Congress party is back, the BJP and the RSS would have to run away.

Mr. Gandhi said the first step towards restoring confidence would be to carry out an “internal revolution” by giving these sections representation in the party. The Congress leader said merely getting political representation for Dalits and the Backward Classes would not help solve their problems and that they should get a role in institutions too.

The Congress leader said there is a “huge difference” between representation and share of power.

“We would not talk just about representation. Kanshi Ram ji fought for political representation but they [BJP] have made political representation irrelevant. The institutions, be it education or corporate India, judiciary, we have to get the share of power,” Mr. Gandhi noted.

“The Backward Classes have 50% population but the share of power is just 5%. Dalits have 15% population but have only 1% share of power. The next question is the share of power and the share of wealth,” he added.

Published - January 30, 2025 07:17 pm IST