Top Congress leaders, including Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and party president Sonia Gandhi, met here on Monday night, amid growing pressure to approve inclusion of caste in the census.
The Congress Core Group, headed by Ms. Gandhi, deliberated on the issue, with the deadline for giving the party's view to the Group of Ministers having passed. Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, heading the GoM, earlier said that almost all parties had given their views, and the GoM would meet soon to deliberate on the issue.
Sidestepping a question whether the Congress had given its views, Mr. Mukherjee remarked: “I represent the Congress. I am not out of the Congress.” This meant that the senior leader could be articulating the party's view before the GoM.
The GoM had sought the views of all parties by August 7. The main Opposition party, the BJP, has supported the inclusion of caste, as also parties such as the Samajwadi Party, the Rashtriya Janata Dal and the Janata Dal (United).
