Bihar: Blocked by police, Rahul Gandhi detours, walks to Ambedkar Hostel

Visiting Bihar — which is due for assembly elections later this year — Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday, 15 May, vowed to extend reservation to private educational institutions and raise the current quota limits if the Congress comes to power.

His visit is part of the party's 'Shiksha Nyay Samvad' campaign.

“We will change everything and do whatever is necessary” for the welfare of OBC and SC/ST groups, he said, addressing a gathering of Dalit students at Ambedkar Hostel in Darbhanga.

Gandhi had criticisms to offer of the BJP-led central government, saying Prime Minister Narendra Modi's regime stood “against the Constitution”.

Noting the BJP and the Centre’s vociferous rejection of a caste census — to the point of ridiculing the idea earlier — Gandhi said, “We had told Narendra Modi in Parliament that you must conduct a caste census and uphold the Constitution. Now, due to public pressure, he was eventually forced to agree and announce the census.”

The ‘Shiksha Nyay Samvad’ is a public outreach initiative by the Congress, aimed at highlighting issues related to educational justice, caste equity, and social empowerment.

 As part of the Shiksha Nyay Samvad initiative, the Congress is holding 75 town hall meetings across Bihar, focusing on issues of educational justice and social equity, demanding

1.      A nationwide caste census must be conducted.

2.     Reservation should be extended to private educational institutions.

3.     The SC-ST sub-plan must be implemented

Earlier, Gandhi was stopped by the local administration in Darbhanga, where he was scheduled to interact with the students of Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST), Other Backward Classes (OBC) and Extremely Backward Classes (EBC) as part of the Shiksha Nyay Samvad programme.

However, Gandhi got down from the car and walked to the venue.

"India is a democracy, it is run by the Constitution, not by dictatorship," Gandhi was heard telling the police and some others.

“The administration in Darbhanga is acting at the behest of the JD(U)-BJP combine,” alleged Congress leader Abhay Dubey at a press conference in Patna.

“Hundreds of students from nearby districts like Madhubani and Samastipur are being stopped from reaching Darbhanga. But the administration must realise that Rahul Gandhi has the unwavering support of the deprived and marginalised sections of society.”