Congress snub to Dwivedi for suggestion on quota

Says the party is of the 'firm opinion' that the system of reservations for SCs, STs and OBCs must continue

Congress leader Janardan Dwivedi today got a snub from the party with Sonia Gandhi rejecting his suggestion for ending quota based on caste saying there should be "no doubt or ambiguity" over the party's stand of continuing the system of reservation for SCs, STs and OBCs.

"The empowerment of SCs, STs and OBCs has been an article of faith with the Congress.

"There should be no doubt or ambiguity on the stand of the Congress on the system of reservation for SC/ST and OBCs. They were introduced by Congress, they have been strengthened by the Congress and they will continue to be championed by the Congress," Gandhi said in a two-page statement.

Her statement was apparently aimed at damage control in the wake of Dwivedi's remarks stirring up a political row with Opposition as well as UPA's outside supporters SP and BSP condemning the AICC general secretary's views projecting the same as Congress policy.

The discomfiture in the party over Dwivedi's remarks coming months before the next Lok Sabha polls was palpable and Congress and the government were quick to distance themselves from the remark, saying it was his "personal" view.

In her statement, Gandhi said that Congress is of the "firm opinion" that the system of reservations for SCs, STs and OBCs must continue.

"This is essential to deal with the discrimination imposed by centuries of subjugation and oppression," she said.

Amid uproar in Parliament over the issue, Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Rajiv Shukla said in the Rajya Sabha, "The government is not considering any proposal to provide reservation based on economic criteria. The reservation as it stands today will continue as per constitutional provision."

Seeking to make it clear that the party was not agreeable to Dwivedi's proposal, Gandhi recalled that in the 2009 Lok Sabha manifesto, Congress had pledged to carve out reservations for economically weaker sections of all communities "without prejudice to existing reservation for SCs/STs and OBCs. A dialogue on this has already been initiated.