The Tamil Nadu Congress Committee (TNCC) president, K.S. Alagiri, on Monday said caste census should be conducted by the Union government and not by the State government.
Congress OBC wing national president, Ajay Singh Yadav, shared a similar view. He, along with Mr. Alagiri, participated in the party booth committee members’ meeting and a seminar on caste census in Dharmapuri. While speaking to journalists, he said after Bharat Jodo Yatra Congress leader Rahul Gandhi received feedback from the people that caste census will provide justice to the members of Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, OBC, Minorities, and also the upper caste people. Still, in certain states, the 27% reservation is not being implemented.
“Prime Minister Narendra Modi claims he is an OBC and is the guarantor of the promises, but what happened to the promise of providing two crore jobs? In the judiciary, the percentage of OBCs is three per cent; in universities, it is four per cent. The caste census will help all sections of people, including promotion in jobs. The caste census will not divide society,” Mr. Yadav contended.
Mr. Alagiri accused the BJP of not allowing views against industrialist Gautam Adani to be expressed by MPs in the Parliament. He alleged that Trinamool Congress member Mahua Moitra was expelled from Lok Sabha for raising questions against Mr. Adani.
Responding to the defeat of Congress in the Assembly elections in three Hindi heartland states, Mr. Alagiri said the Congress party did not see the results as a setback. “In 2002 Assembly elections, Congress was defeated in these three states: Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, and Madhya Pradesh. But in the 2004 Parliament elections, Congress won more seats in these three States and came to power at the Centre,” he contended.
According to him, during the recent cyclone in Chennai, the DMK government functioned well, and it is not time to criticise the government. “This is a natural disaster, and it is not a human error. Few people criticise the State government for political reasons. The compensation announced by the Chief Minister is a welcome one,” he said.
Published - December 11, 2023 08:01 pm IST
