Rahul did not say ‘will end reservation’; Clipped video shared by BJP distorts Gandhi’s statement

A six-second video clip of Rahul Gandhi has gone viral. In it, he says, “We will think of scrapping reservations when India is a fair place.”. Several users have shared the clip claiming that this has exposed Rahul Gandhi’s ‘agenda’ and that he intends to end reservations.

The official X page of BJP Delhi (@BJP4Delhi) shared the above-mentioned clip on September 11 and wrote, “… Rahul Gandhi has made his intentions clear about ending reservations for SC, ST, and OBC!” (Archive)

देख रहे हो बिनोद, राहुल बाबा का असली चेहरा 😳👇

राहुल गांधी ने एससी, एसटी और ओबीसी के लिए आरक्षण खत्म करने के बारे में अपने इरादे स्पष्ट कर दिए हैं ! pic.twitter.com/ZscpgWv6Sl

— BJP Delhi (@BJP4Delhi) September 11, 2024

Premium subscribed X user Pradeep Bhandari (@pradip103) shared the viral clip on September 10 with the following caption: “RAHUL GANDHI’S AGENDA EXPOSED! RAHUL AND CONGRESS INTENDS TO END RESERVATION IN INDIA. THIS IS WHY THEY HAD SNATCH RIGHTS OF DALITS IN KARNATAKA. CONGRESS IS ANTI DALIT!” (Archive)

RAHUL GANDHI’S AGENDA EXPOSED!

RAHUL AND CONGRESS INTENDS TO END RESERVATION IN INDIA.

THIS IS WHY THEY HAD SNATCH RIGHTS OF DALITS IN KARNATAKA.

CONGRESS IS ANTI DALIT! pic.twitter.com/ascXAfgUY3

— Pradeep Bhandari(प्रदीप भंडारी)🇮🇳 (@pradip103) September 10, 2024

Several other pages and users such as @BJP4Haryana, @TheSquind, @AshokShrivasta6, @RealBababanaras, shared the same clip with similar claims.

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Fact Check

We found that the clip was from an interview and interaction session with the Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi at Georgetown University. The full interview is available on Rahul Gandhi’s official YouTube channel.

At the 53:37 mark of the video, an individual asks Gandhi, “In your talk, you mentioned caste and reservation… I would like to know your and your party’s thoughts on at what point, if at all, would we move away or would you move away from the idea of caste-based reservations being a permanent solution to the underlying grassroots issues that necessitate such a reservation-based system. At what point, we as a society but more importantly, you and your party look at caste-based reservation as a treatment of the symptoms and not the actual problem”?

Rahul Gandhi in response begins by citing statistics that depict the disparity in representation of individuals from underprivileged castes and classes such as Dalits, tribals, OBCs, and minorities in decision-making areas of the country. Gandhi adds: “… the fact of the matter is they are not getting participation and the problem is that 90 per cent of India is not able to play. Go through the list of every single business leader in India, show me the tribal name, show me the Dalit name, show me the OBC name. Out of the top 200, I think there is one OBC. They are 50 per cent of India. We are not treating the symptom, that is the problem.” At the 57:00 mark, the viral part of the interview begins, at this point, continuing his afore-mentioned thought, the Congress leader states, “It (cast-based reservations) is not the only tool. There are other tools. But, we will think of scrapping reservations when India is a fair place and India is not a fair place…”

To sum up, the question posed to Rahul Gandhi was about the Congress party’s stance on the future of caste-based reservations. At no point did he suggest doing away with them. On the contrary, he elaborated on the importance and necessity of such reservations. The part of the interview which is viral, where Gandhi can be heard saying that they would ‘scrap reservations when India is a fair place’, is being shared without context. In the same breath, Rahul Gandhi stated that ‘India is not a fair place’. This part of the sentence has been edited out in the viral video.

Hence, the claim that Rahul Gandhi said that the Congress or INDIA bloc would scrap reservations when they come to power is false. The viral video is a part of an hour-long interview and interaction and the six-second clip is being shared sans context.

On September 11, the Congress MP issued a clarification on this. He said, “Yesterday someone misrepresented my statement that I am against reservation. But let me make it clear – I am not against reservation. We will take reservation beyond the limit of 50 per cent.”

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