Kickstarting the Grand Old Party’s campaign in its stronghold, Kolhapur, Congress MP and Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi on Saturday unveiled the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj statue in Maharashtra’s Kolhapur.
Gandhi, who was slated to reach Kolhapur on Friday, began his speech with an apology for arriving a day late due to technical issues with his aircraft.
“The Congress party today is fighting against the same ideology that Shivaji Maharaj fought against,” Gandhi said.
Further connecting Shivaji Maharaj with the “Samvidan Bachao” (Save the Constitution) agenda, Gandhi said, “Shivaji Maharaj had said that the country belongs to everyone. We have to move forward together, ensuring that there is no injustice. There’s a direct connection between Shivaji Maharaj’s thoughts and our Constitution. The Constitution is based on his principles. The Constitution wouldn’t have existed if people like Shivaji Maharaj and Shahuji Maharaj hadn’t been there.”
Going back into history, Gandhi added, “We are opposing the same ideology that opposed the coronation of Shivaji Maharaj.” There have been claims by many that the coronation of Shivaji Maharaj was opposed by Brahmins, as they did not consider him a Kshatriya.
Hitting out at the BJP regarding the collapse of the Shivaji statue that took place days ago in Sindhudurg , Gandhi said: “They (BJP) made a statue of Shivaji Maharaj, and after a few days, the statue broke and fell down. Their intention was wrong, and the statue gave them a message that if you want to make a statue of Shivaji Maharaj, then you have to protect the ideology of Shivaji Maharaj. That is why the statue fell down—because their ideology is wrong. They did not allow the tribal President to attend the inauguration of the Ram Mandir and Parliament. This is not a political fight; this is a fight of ideology.”
Besides, Rahul Gandhi paid tribute to Shahu Maharaj, Shivaji Maharaj’s 12th descendant and the King of Kolhapur, who in 1902 issued an order to reserve 50% of jobs for lower castes.
Later in the day, Gandhi addressed the Samvidhan Samman Samelan, where he spoke about Ambedkar’s mantra of “Educate, agitate, organize.”
With this, Gandhi paid respects to three of the most important icons of Maharashtra.
Speaking at the Samvidhan Samman Samelan, LoP Rahul Gandhi, with a pocket copy of the Constitution in his hand, reiterated his stance on removing the 50% cap on reservations, caste-based census, and socio-economic surveys. Gandhi said the caste-based census is like an X-ray and will help understand the problem.
Meanwhile, NCP leader Sharad Pawar had, days ago, urged the BJP government to bring a constitutional amendment to increase reservations in education and government jobs beyond the existing 50% cap.
Speaking to the media, Pawar said that while granting reservations to Marathas, who have been agitating for quotas, care should be taken to ensure that limits meant for other communities are not disturbed.
“Currently, the cap on reservations is 50%. But if Tamil Nadu can have 78% (quota for various communities), why can’t Maharashtra have 75% reservation?” he said.
It will be interesting to see whether the Maratha community, which is said to be agitated with the ruling alliance, will fully support the opposition MVA, or whether there will be a split in the votes of the community, which is the largest in numbers in the state.
Maharashtra will go to the polls anytime before November 26, 2024.
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