Once again raising the caste census pitch, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday said the party would conduct a caste survey in Rajasthan if elected to power in the upcoming Assembly election. Mr. Gandhi promised that Other Backward Classes (OBC) would get benefits proportionate to their population, saying a caste census would be launched in the country on the day the Congress government was formed at the Centre.
Mr. Gandhi made the announcement while addressing election rallies in three towns of Rajasthan. “The OBC population in the country is at least 50%, but the BJP-led government [at the Centre] does not want to tell you your correct population,” he said.
“What is the population of OBCs in our country? No one can tell because there is a reason… There is a conspiracy, they do not want to tell you about your real population,” Mr. Gandhi said. He said the census would be a “revolutionary step”, as the nation would make a transformation afterwards, as it had changed with the white (milk cooperatives) and green (agricultural) revolutions.
The Wayanad MP addressed rallies at Taranagar, Nohar and Sadulshahar in northern Rajasthan, while making an appeal to people to vote for the Congress candidates. Taking a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Mr. Gandhi said he had a habit of asserting his caste identity while fighting elections, but was unwilling to accept the reality of caste structure in society.
“I raised the question of caste census in the Parliament. Modi-ji answered that there is only caste in the country and it is poor. If there is no caste, then why does Modi-ji call himself an OBC?” Mr. Gandhi asked.
The Congress leader said the BJP would stop the Congress government’s flagship welfare schemes if it came to power in the State, and would help billionaires. If the Congress was voted back to power, it would extend benefits to farmers, small tradersz, and the poor and downtrodden, he said.
“It is for you to decide. Do you want Adani’s government or the government of farmers, labourers and youths?” Mr. Gandhi said, while affirming that Mr. Modi’s guarantees were meant for his billionaire friends rather than the public at large. “The BJP helps Adani in buying companies abroad, whereas Congress transfers money into the pockets of farmers,” he said.
Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, State Congress chief Govind Singh Dotasra, former Deputy CM Sachin Pilot, and Congress candidates in the respective constituencies accompanied Mr. Gandhi at the three rallies.
