Rajiv Gandhi's speech and the Congress's stance damaged the party's popularity among OBC communities. As a result, the Congress' political base in states like Uttar Pradesh and Bihar weakened, and the party never again got an absolute majority at the Centre.
Rajiv Gandhi said in the Lok Sabha that the government had decided to implement the Mandal Commission report at a time when the country already had a lot of serious problems. He said, ‘The problems of Kashmir have been solved by the government.
The situation has never been this bad since independence. The situation in Punjab is also very bad. Assam is also on the same path. Tamil Nadu is also close to it. The Prime Minister himself had said that the country should be prepared for war… Apart from this, tension is increasing between the North and the South over language…” He said that there are many similarities between that time and today. There was peace in Kashmir for some time, but now tension has increased again. The government is having a dispute with the southern states over language. The government has not ‘prepared the ground’ for this big decision. He said, ‘The proof of this is that people are being killed, buses are being burnt, trains are being burnt and buildings are being demolished.’ He said that on one hand the Prime Minister is asking the country to be ready for war, and on the other hand he is dividing our society.
Then Congress gave reservation
After 16 years, the Congress UPA government took another step to implement the Mandal Commission report. They reserved 27% seats for OBCs in colleges like AIIMS, IIT and IIM. This decision was also opposed a lot. Upper caste people said that the government is eliminating merit and is doing this only for votes.
What was BJP’s stand?
At that time BJP was in the opposition. BJP supported reservation, but said that the benefit of reservation should also be given to poor people, irrespective of their caste. BJP also said that creamy layer i.e. rich people of backward classes should not get reservation.
What is the connection with Jammu and Kashmir?
After the terrorist attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, the Modi cabinet has taken a big decision on caste census. 26 people were killed in this attack. The tension between India and Pakistan has increased a lot. Common people Want a response to this attack. In 1990, when the Mandal Commission recommendations were implemented, there was a similar atmosphere. Actually, the situation in Jammu and Kashmir was bad in those days too. Terrorism had increased a lot. Many Hindus were targeted and killed. Lakhs of Hindu families were forced to migrate from Kashmir. VP Singh was under a lot of pressure regarding the situation in Kashmir.
About the author
Anubhav Shakya
After studying journalism from IIMC in 2021, he entered journalism with Zee News. Born in Etah, UP but studied in Aligarh. After writing national and international news there for about one and a half years, he is now working in the news team at Navbharat Times.
Courtesy : Anubhav Shakya, NBT, Hindi News