Dalit community to launch 'Jute Maro Andolan' against Rahul Gandhi over quota remarks in US, says Ramdas Athawale

Union Minister Ramdas Athawale announced on Friday that the Dalit community and the Republican Party of India (RPI) are planning to launch a nationwide ‘Jute Maro Andolan’ in response to Rahul Gandhi's recent remarks on reservations. Gandhi, during a student interaction at Georgetown University in the United States, stated that the Congress would consider removing reservations only when India becomes a fair and equitable place, which he believes is currently not the case.

Athawale, who also leads the RPI, criticised Gandhi's comment, asserting that the reservations granted to Dalits, OBCs, and Adivasis are non-negotiable. He firmly warned that any attempt to revoke these rights would be met with strong resistance. Athawale emphasised that the community would fiercely defend their entitlement to reservations and that such an initiative, like Gandhi's, would be dealt with firmly.

"The Dalit community and Republican Party of India would launch a nationwide -Jute Maro andolan- against the leader of the opposition Rahul Gandhi for his remark on reservation," he said and added that shoes should be thrown at Gandhi.


"Rahul Gandhi is a useless man. Whenever he goes to England or America, he talks against India", he said and advised Gandhi not to make wage statements.

He said, "How is it possible that there is no democracy in the country? How can Rahul Gandhi get 99 seats and become the leader of the opposition if there is no democracy in the country?"

"The people have given us a mandate and the NDA government is taking everyone ahead, he added.

Furthermore, in a post on X, Athawale said, "By talking about ending #आरक्षण @RahulGandhi has once again brought the anti-Dalit face of Congress @INCIndia in front of the country. Dalits, tribals and backward classes of the country will teach Rahul a lesson on his statement of ending reservation. The reservation given by the respected Babasaheb Ambedkar through the Constitution will never end."

Athawale was in Dharamshala to participate in the seminar organised by the World Cooperatives Economic Forum to discuss issues like connecting agriculture with cooperatives, the ongoing war scenario in context to Ukraine and Russia, Israel and Hamas and Pakistan's involvement in terrorist activities in India.

Inputs from PTI