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Congress leader Rahul Gandhi voiced criticism over the representation of backward classes in India's administrative structure (IAS), stating that 90 IAS officers run the Indian government, of which only three are from backward classes.
Alleging the Centre of caste discrimination at a public meeting in Gujarat' Patan on Monday, he said, "Who runs the government? 90 people run the Delhi government. Modi ji signs off on things. 90 IAS officers run the Indian government. I have looked up their names. Out of the 90, only 3 officers are from the backward classes, and they are placed in the back, in a corner, with small departments. You won't find a single backward class officer in the Finance Ministry. You won't find a single one in the major ministries. There are 3 backward class officers, 3 Dalits, and 1 Adivasi among the 9." Congress has been seeking a nationwide caste census for some time now to "ensure equal opportunities" to all as per their population. "If you look at India's budget, of every 100 rupees spent, only 6 rupees and 10 paise are decided by backward class, Adivasi, or Dalit officers. Your population is 90 per cent, but your share is 6 rupees and 10 paise out of 100," he added. He pointed out that these officers are responsible for distributing budgetary funds, making key decisions on various government initiatives, and shaping India's infrastructure projects. "They distribute the budget's funds. How much money goes to Gujarat, how much goes to the bullet train, whether the Agniveer scheme will happen or not, how much scholarship will be given to Dalits and backward classes, how many roads will be built, where they will be built, how they will be built, and how much money will go to infrastructure -- all these decisions are made by these 90 IAS officers," Gandhi said. He further said that while backward classes represent a significant portion of India's population, their role in governance and influential positions remains minimal. "So my question is, if India's 90 per cent population is not in business, not in media, not running private hospitals, not running private universities, not in the government, then where are they? I'll tell you where: they are farmers, laborers, unemployed youth, and small business owners," Gandhi said. Earlier, The Congress party has promised to pass a constitutional amendment to raise the Supreme Court mandated 50 per cent cap on reservations for Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST) and Other Backward Classes (OBC), as per its poll manifesto released on Friday. The party also promised to conduct a nation-wide Socio-Economic and Caste Census to enumerate the castes and sub-castes and their socio-economic conditions. (ANI)
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