The decision on the OBC quota in elite educational institutions has thrown up a strange situation for the Congress.
NEW DELHI : The decision on the OBC quota in elite educational institutions has thrown up a strange situation for the Congress.
Though it is one of the most important decisions of the party-led coalition, the Congress is shying away from taking credit while UPA constituents like PMK and DMK are running away with the honours.
The move triggered by certain statements of HRD Minister Arjun Singh in the midst of the recent assembly polls found the party divided while the likes of the Dravidian parties were quick to make political capital ahead of the Tamil Nadu poll battle.
RJD President Lalu Prasad also used the opportunity to extend his influence to the forward castes by asking for reservation even to the economically backward in the upper castes.
The Congress appears to be caught in a serious dilemma on taking credit for the move amid apprehensions that it would lead to a backlash from people belonging to upper castes.
There was also the belief that the backward castes were not the political constituency of the party and were only that of Lalu Prasad, Mulayam Singh Yadav, Nitish Kumar and others in the erstwhile Janata Parivar.
Party chief Sonia Gandhi has not spoken a word on the subject so far since the matter gained centre-stage in spite of her addressing a Congress Parliamentary Party meeting, presiding over a CWC meet and inaugurating a national conference on the National Rural Employment Guarantee Programme (NREGP).
A section of the party, including some OBC leaders, feel that the Congress should give up this dilemma for its own good as it would not be politically wise to allow parties like DMK, PMK and RJD to run away with the credit.
This section says that it would be a big mistake of the party if it failed to project itself as the main author of step to "uplift" the weaker sections and remained worried over the "backlash".
This section says that Arjun Singh might have utilised the issue for his personal agenda but the Congress should now go the full length to reap the political benefit out of the measure. Otherwise it would fall between two stools, the section feels.
It says that the party should say that the middle path propounded by Rahul Gandhi was the Congress' own answer to take along with it everyone.
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