Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Wednesday alleged that the BJP's push for a two-thirds majority in the Lok Sabha is aimed at amending the Constitution, with its "real and ultimate target" being the removal of reservation for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and OBCs. He also said former Congress leaders who joined the BJP after benefiting from the party should not be welcomed back, while asserting that established political parties—not protest movements alone—must carry forward issues affecting the country's youth.
The Congress general secretary claimed that the BJP's immediate objective is to pass delimitation-related legislation, while its larger goal is to secure enough numbers in Parliament to alter constitutional provisions.
Asked whether the BJP was seeking a two-thirds majority to target reservation, Ramesh told PTI Videos, "You look that in 2024 it was very clear what was happening. I mean the ultimate objective is to end reservation as the Constitution has provided and in spite of what the prime minister (Narendra Modi) says, you know the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh is on record as having said that reservation should be done away with, RSS leaders have weighed in against reservation."
He alleged that the BJP wants to implement women's reservation through delimitation and argued that if the government is serious about women's representation, it should enforce the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam based on the current Lok Sabha strength of 543 seats for the 2029 general elections.
Referring to the defeat of the Constitution amendment bill related to women's reservation and expansion of Lok Sabha seats on April 17, Ramesh said the opposition's vote was against delimitation, not women's reservation.
"The vote by the opposition in Parliament, bringing down the bills was against delimitation and not against women's reservation," he said.
"All opposition parties unitedly voted against it. The home minister was humiliated. The PM was angry and it showed on his face. He criticised the Congress that it is because of the Congress that women's reservation is not being delivered. What had the Congress stated - that you should give women reservation on 543 seats."
Defectors who joined BJP should not return to Congress
Ramesh further alleged that Home Minister Amit Shah has intensified efforts to engineer defections from opposition parties to bolster the BJP's numbers in the Lok Sabha.
"The single cause for this is the humiliation that the self-styled Chanakya of Indian politics suffered on the 17th of April in the Lok Sabha. He promised prime minister (Narendra Modi) that he would get the three delimitation bills passed. He could not muster more than 298 votes in the Lok Sabha."
"I think he decided to take revenge on that day for that humiliation he had been forced to suffer and now he is busy with the 'todh-phod ki rajniti'.He broke the TMC, he's breaking the Shiv Sena, all in his search for a two-thirds majority in the Lok Sabha - you're seeing the truth of our 2024 campaign. They were asking for '400 paar' so that they can amend the Constitution to finish off reservation."
"That was the whole logic of '400 paar' and now you are seeing why he is splitting all these parties, he is splitting up parties in his search for a two-thirds majority to amend the Constitution," Ramesh claimed.
According to Ramesh, the BJP currently remains short of the numbers needed to secure a two-thirds majority in the Lower House.
"The Home Minister thinks he's going to get 348 which is the minimum required under various permutations and combinations - you require 2/3 of those presented voting. So even if you assume certain parties may not be present, in the worst case scenario, you still require 348 so far."
"All I know is that he (Shah) has broken the TMC. He's broken the Shiv Sena. He's gone from 298 to 26 more. That means he's reached 324. He still has a long way to go. I don't think he's going to get a two-thirds majority in this Lok Sabha. They will not get two thirds majority in future polls as well because the people -- Dalits, backward and adivasis -- know that they want a two-thirds majority to change the Constitution. Their (BJP's) advisors were themselves saying that they need a new Constitution."
The Congress leader also raised concerns over the proposed expansion of Lok Sabha seats and questioned the Election Commission's role in conducting delimitation.
"They did delimitation in Assam. They did delimitation in J-K. Will Gyanesh Kumar do delimitation? You have seen the 'jugalbandi' between the government and the Election Commission. The way the EC works, everyone knows that it does what the Home Minister says. Will you get the delimitation done by the EC which has a big blot on it in Bihar, West Bengal and UP."
"We want that after the caste census, delimitation be done and the next Lok Sabha should be conducted on 543 seats with one-third reserved for women," he asserted.
On defections from the Congress to the BJP, including leaders such as Jyotiraditya Scindia, Jitin Prasada, Milind Deora and RPN Singh, Ramesh said those who left after benefiting from the party should not be readmitted.
"To all those who have left the party. I don't want to talk of any individual but all those who have left the party after enjoying the perks of power and office, after having been the beneficiaries of the party, it would be shameful for us to even consider them to come back, but Indian politics being Indian politics," Ramesh told PTI.
"The last 12 years has demonstrated who is resilient and people who are in the Congress today are ideologically committed and ideologically wedded to the party. We are not the party in power."
"It is unfortunate that those, particularly the younger people, who have enjoyed office, who have enjoyed the perks of power, who got important positions in the party organisation, decided to leave the party and go to a party which is ideologically diametrically opposed to that of the Congress."
"My opinion is that they should not be taken back. It is my private opinion."
Political parties, not movements alone, must lead change
Commenting on the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) movement, which has been protesting over alleged examination irregularities and the NEET-UG paper leak issue, Ramesh acknowledged its role in reflecting youth frustration but stressed that political parties must ultimately lead the fight.
"Some people say it is sponsored by the deep state, some people say it is a reflection of the frustration of youth. There is no way to prove (either) but the fact is - it caught the social media space and it got a lot of headlines, but it is not a political party."
"It is political parties that ultimately count. It is the party structure that counts. So while it was an important vehicle for sending a message of frustration on the part of the youth, ultimately I think established political parties have to take this forward."
"Movements have their place but democracies cannot be dependent only on movements, democracies are ultimately anchored in political parties."
Ramesh said the Congress has launched a nationwide campaign on education and examination reforms, led by Rahul Gandhi, following concerns over NEET and CBSE-related issues.
"We have to continue with this, no doubt about it. He (Gandhi) is not just raising the issue of NEET and CBSE, he is raising the fundamental issue of education, he is raising the issue of examination, he is raising the issue of public investment in education."
"The very important fact that the Leader of Opposition brought out in his Kota presentation which has not gotten the national attention it deserved and should be debated both in Parliament and outside, is that families are spending more on coaching centres than the central government is spending on education."
"While we have to discuss the examination issue which is very important, I think a situation where families are spending more on coaching centres than the central government is spending on education is itself a fundamental mismatch, a fundamental asymmetry in our education system."
"Why are coaching centres so popular in this country? Why is medical education so expensive in this country? Why is everything getting privatised? Those are the questions that he (Gandhi) raised in Kota and also those are the questions we have to raise in Parliament and outside," Ramesh said.