Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi has said that the Congress Party will think of scrapping reservations when India is a fair place, which is not the case right now. Gandhi made these remarks while talking to students at the prestigious Georgetown University in Washington DC, US.

In a post on X Gandhi said the caste census is now an unstoppable idea. “The critical question of whether 90% of our population is meaningfully represented in India’s institutional structure – economy, government, education – demands an answer,” he added.  

“At its core, this is an issue of fairness and justice. Anything less than a comprehensive caste census, along with an economic and institutional survey is unacceptable,” he said.

“We will think of scrapping reservations when India is a fair place. And India is not a fair place,” Gandhi told students at the university here in response to a question on reservation and how long it would continue.

During his interaction with the students and faculty at the University, Gandhi said, “When you look at the financial numbers, then tribals get 10 paise out of 100 rupees; Dalits get 5 rupees out of 100 rupees, and OBCs get a similar number. The fact of the matter is that they’re not getting participation.”

“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. I’ve done it. Show me the tribal name. Show me the Dalit name. Show me the OBC name. Out of the top 200, I think there’s one OBC. They’re 50 per cent of India. But we’re not treating the symptom, he said.

When asked about the Uniform Civil Code, Gandhi said he would comment on it only after he knows what is BJP’s proposal.

“BJP is proposing a uniform civil code. We haven’t seen it. We have no idea what they’re talking about. For us to comment on it doesn’t make sense. When they pull it out, then we’ll have a look and we’ll comment on it,” he said.

Gandhi also said members of the INDIA coalition had differences but agreed on a lot of things.

Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh along with his MLAs and Ministers from the ruling BJP met Governor Lakshman Prasad Acharya on Sunday for the second time in two consecutive days, seeking the control of the Unified Command and abrogation of the Suspension of Operations (SoO) agreement with the Kuki militant groups.

Before today’s meeting, Chief Minister Singh along with ruling MLAs met the Governor on Saturday evening too and briefed him about the fresh violence in the state that took six lives in Jiribam district.

According to reports, the Sunday meeting, which took place for hours, was a follow-up meeting between the CM and the Governor, which lasted over 30 minutes on Saturday night at Raj Bhawan, in Imphal.

Today’s meeting, according to the report, regarding the demand for adequate powers and responsibilities to the elected state government as per the Constitution by handing over Unified Command, which brings Central and State forces and local administration together to ensure the maintenance of law and order in the state.

The Unified Command was formed by the Centre in May 2023, with Kuldiep Singh, former Director General of CRPF, taking its Command in order to control the ethnic conflict in the state.

The list of demands includes another crucial request to abolish the Suspension of Operations agreement between the government and Kuki insurgent groups, allowing the security forces to take decisive action.

Earlier this year, an all-party meeting in Manipur urged both the Centre and the state government to annul the agreement, enabling security forces to launch comprehensive operations against the Kuki insurgents.

During the meeting, which was presided over by the Chief Minister, Opposition MLAs raised concerns about why the Centre and the state government had not disclosed the imposition of Article 355 of the Constitution in Manipur.

Article 355 obligates the Union to safeguard every state against external aggression and internal disturbance, and its invocation indicates that the state is perilously close to being placed under President’s rule.

The Chief Minister’s advocacy for the Unified Command Authority is perceived as an attempt to consolidate authority and streamline decision-making within the state’s security structure.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday announced an ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh each for the families of the deceased and Rs 50,000 for those injured in the building collapse at Transport Nagar in Uttar Pradesh’s Lucknow on Saturday evening.

According to officials, the incident, which involved a three-storeyed medical warehouse collapsing, resulted in the deaths of eight people and left 28 others injured. The injured people were admitted to three hospitals in the Krishna Nagar area, with some already discharged.

PM Modi expressed his grief over the loss of lives due to the building collapse and also prayed for the speedy recovery of the injured people.

In a post on X, PM Modi said, “The loss of lives due to a building mishap in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, is saddening. Prayers with those who lost their loved ones. May the injured recover soon.”  

“An ex-gratia of Rs. 2 lakh from PMNRF would be given to the next of kin of each deceased. The injured would be given Rs. 50,000,” he added.

Lucknow’s Joint Commissioner of Police (Law and Order), Amit Verma, announced that a committee will be formed to investigate the building collapse.

Speaking to news agency ANI, Verma said a committee will investigate the reasons behind the collapse. Structural engineers and experts will provide insights into the cause, he added.

Meanwhile, an FIR has been registered against Rakesh Singhal, the owner of the Harmilap Building in the incident.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has also directed officials to expedite relief efforts. He had also asked officials to promptly transport the injured to the hospital for proper treatment. CM Yogi has also wished for the speedy recovery of the injured.

Additional Director General of Law and Order Amitabh Yash said that CM Yogi is continuously reviewing the situation and the relief and rescue operations.

The Chief Minister paid his condolences to the people who lost their lives in the incident.

Taking to X, he said the loss of life due to the collapse of a building in Lucknow district is extremely sad and heartbreaking. “My condolences are with the grieving families of the deceased,” he added.

He said instructions have been given to the concerned officials to conduct relief and rescue operations on a war footing and provide proper treatment to the injured. “I pray to Lord Shri Ram to give a place to the departed souls in his feet and provide speedy recovery to the injured,” CM added.