Ahmedabad, Sep 20 (IANS): Rajasthan Deputy Chief Minister Prem Chand Bairwa on Friday criticised the Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi for his alleged anti-reservations remarks calling them anti-constitutional.

Bairwa alleged that Congress has a history of blocking reservation policies.

“Congress ruled for 57 years, yet during that time, they politically misused the Constitution and neglected social goals. The party has never shown the willpower to implement constitutional reservations fully,” Bairwa said.

He said that Congress, under Jawaharlal Nehru, rejected the Kaka Kalelkar report, which recommended reservations for backward classes in 1956.

“Nehru even wrote to chief ministers in 1961, warning that reservations would lead to inefficiency. Congress and Nehru tried to undermine B.R. Ambedkar’s social and political vision,” Bairwa added.

He further pointed out that Late Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi opposed the Mandal Commission report in 1990, which recommended reservations for OBCs while advocating for reservations for Muslims.

“This was a clear violation of Ambedkar’s original Constitution,” Bairwa said.

Bairwa also pointed out that Indira Gandhi delayed the implementation of OBC reservations by rejecting the Mandal Commission report and accused Congress of misusing constitutional provisions like Article 356 to subvert democracy.

Earlier, LoP Rahul Gandhi suggested that Congress will consider ending reservations in India once all people become equitable.