Congress doing vote bank politics over caste census: BJP
New Delhi, June 17 (UNI) Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP and spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi on Tuesday criticised the Congress party, asserting that it has been engaging in vote bank politics under the guise of reservation policies.
At the same time, he emphasised that under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the government is committed to ensuring dignity and upliftment for all castes through the conduct of a comprehensive caste census.
'Under the leadership of PM Modi, the cabinet has decided to conduct the census. In the press release, it was clearly stated that, for the first time in the history of independent India, a social, economic survey, and caste census will be carried out along with the national census,' Trivedi stated during a press conference here.
He further highlighted that the NDA government stands for 'Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas' (inclusive development), contrasting it with the Congress party's approach.
The BJP spokesperson accused the Congress of neglecting important issues such as Operation Sadbhav and the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), and criticised their opposition to the caste census. 'The Congress party has a habit of overlooking crucial matters. They are spreading false claims about the caste census and attempting to divert attention from the genuine goal of ensuring social justice,' he added.
Trivedi raised concerns over Congress' alleged efforts to manipulate reservation policies, citing examples from Karnataka, Telangana, and West Bengal.
"I want to ask the Congress party what they have to say about the people of the minority community, the castes, that they have tried to include in such a large number in Karnataka and Telangana, about which the court has also commented? After all, whose part do you want to take?
'The West Bengal government has included a large number of Muslim community members in OBC lists, with reports indicating that 73 out of 91 castes are from the Muslim community. Such practices reflect vote bank politics aimed at undermining the share of backward classes,' he stated.
He further sought to clarify that the ongoing survey in Telangana is not a full caste census but merely a social and economic survey. 'The notification of the caste census is issued by the central government. States can only conduct surveys, not full censuses,' Trivedi explained.
He alleged that Congress kept power within one family and failed to support real economic development even though it ruled India for decades. 'The Congress is busy in destructive policy. Wherever the Congress came in power, the fiscal position of that state has deteriorated because of their 'khata khat' model of engaging in expenditure spree;' Trivedi said referring to Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy's acknowledgment of the state's precarious fiscal position.
Addressing the upcoming population census scheduled to begin in March 2027, he said it will be a comprehensive drive to be conducted in two phases, gathering demographic, socio-economic, and cultural details of every individual besides collecting data on housing conditions, assets, and amenities.
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