I am not against reservation, will increase it: Rahul Gandhi

New Delhi: Under attack from BJP leaders and BSP chief Mayawati for his "we will think of scrapping reservation when India is a fair place, and India is not a fair place" statement in the US, Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday attempted damage-control through a clarification by saying he is not against reservation and that his comment was misquoted.

He referred to the Congress manifesto promise about raising the quota cap. "Somebody misquoted me yesterday, saying I am against reservation. I have been saying again and again that we are going to increase reservation beyond 50%. I am not against reservation," Gandhi said at a media interaction in Washington.

While Gandhi didn't repeat his earlier statement, yet his theory that reservation can be ended "when India is a fair place" has also baffled many, including those in the Congress, as they felt that he also missed the very basic fact that the doctrine of affirmative action was consciously incorporated in the Indian Constitution as a demonstration of India being a fair state, a fair democracy that takes care of its socially deprived sections through special measures.


Defending Gandhi's statements from the criticism of BJP leaders, including Amit Shah, Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera said: "There is no anti-reservation agenda. On the contrary, Rahul Gandhi has said that we will increase the limit of reservation...What is anti-national? If Rahul Gandhi has said anything anti-national, tell him (Union home minister) to take action against him".