Amit Shah vs. Rahul Gandhi

New Delhi:

Contrary to Congress MP Rahul Gandhi’s claim that out of the 90 secretaries in the Indian government, only three belong to the Other Backward Classes (OBC) community, Union Home Minister Amit Shah has declared Wednesday that it is the government that runs the country, not the secretaries.

“One of my colleagues (Rahul Gandhi) said that among the people who run the country, only three belong to the OBC category. Now who is going to make him understand that it is the government that runs the country, not the secretaries,” Amit Shah said in the Lok Sabha.

In a scathing attack on Rahul Gandhi and the opposition parties, Amit Shah said those who claim to speak for OBCs should know that it was the BJP which appointed an OBC as Prime Minister.

“Our Constitution states that the policy of the country will be decided only by the cabinet and Parliament. You (Rahul Gandhi) are not here to listen, but I want to tell you that 29 percent of our party’s MPs belong to the party . OBC community. If you want to make a comparison, come and see us. And in our union cabinet, there are 29 ministers, who belong to the community. Out of 1358 MPs, there are 365 MPs in our party who belong to the OBC. category… You talk about OBCs, but it is the BJP that gave this country a Prime Minister from the OBC community,” Amit Shah said.

Rahul Gandhi, who spoke in the Lower House just before Mr Shah, claimed that there were only three secretaries in the Indian government from the OBC community.

“I was shocked to learn that out of 90 secretaries in the Indian government, only three are OBCs. These secretaries control only 5 percent of the budget. If the country’s budget is Rs 44 lakh crore, then Rs 2, 4 lakh crore controls it.”, Rahul Gandhi said.

Speaking about the opposition’s concerns over OBC representation, delimitation and delay in implementation of the bill, Amit Shah said the bill would be implemented soon after the census and delimitation after the elections.

“Census and delimitation exercises will be carried out soon after the elections, and women will have a greater voice in Parliament,” he added.

Further, questioning the previous government’s intention of not passing the bill, Amit Shah said, “This is the fifth attempt to bring the Women Quota Bill. ji to Manmohan Singh ji“There have been four attempts to introduce this bill… What is the reason why this bill has not been passed?” he asked.

Amit Shah also spoke about the women-centric initiatives that the Modi government has put in place since coming to power.

“Safety, respect and equal participation of women have been the lifeblood of the government ever since Prime Minister Modi took oath,” he said, listing schemes such as free LPG cylinders, the savings Mahila Samman, maternity leave and Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao. as initiatives that empowered women.

“The Congress ruled this country for more than five decades, but there were 11 million families without toilets. They raised the slogan ‘Gareebi Hatao’ but could not make provisions for the poor. When a house does not have toilets, the most affected are girls, sisters and mothers,” he added.

The Home Minister also said that the Women’s Reservation Bill will ensure participation of women in decision-making and policy-making in the country.

“We have already failed women four times. We must now rise above politics… Today I want to urge the Treasury and the Opposition to unite on this new beginning and to amend by consensus the Constitution to grant reservations to women.” he said, adding that the passage of the bill would mark the beginning of a new era.