People have ordered to carry out a caste census, and if Prime Minister Narendra Modi doesn’t do it, another Prime Minister will do it, Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi said on Saturday.
Mr. Gandhi, addressing an event in Uttar Pradesh’s Prayagraj (Allahabad), asserted that the caste census will be the foundation for policy making and the numbers of every community must be enlisted. He said the arbitrary 50% cap on reservations will be revised so that representation in government and education is fair for all communities.
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“This will definitely happen. It cannot be stopped. Neither the caste census nor an economic survey or an institutional survey can be prevented and the 50% barrier will also fall. All of these will happen,” Mr. Gandhi told a packed audience at the Allahabad Medical Association Convention and Rehabilitation Centre in Uttar Pradesh, while addressing the Samvidhan Samman Sammelan
“The BJP is saying they will conduct a caste census and include an OBC section. The first thing is that just mentioning OBC in the caste census isn’t enough. There are different communities, and we want a list of all of them,” he said.
“For us, this isn’t just about a census; it’s the foundation for policy-making. I want to make it clear that we’re not just talking about a caste census… We want the data. How many Dalits, OBC (Other Backward Classes), tribals, women, minorities, general caste people are there. We are trying to protect the Constitution through this demand for a caste census,” he added.
The Opposition leader said it was essential to get information on population to ensure participation of the 90% people, who are out of the system.
“However, knowing the population is not the final step. My vision is to understand how wealth is distributed in India,”Mr Gandhi said.
However, he was quick to add, ”I have not said so far what we will do with the caste census data”.
Recalling his recent meeting with a cobbler at his constituency of Rae Bareli, Mr. Gandhi noted how majority of the people are not respected despite having skills.
“90% people are sitting out of the system. They have skill, knowledge but no connections (with the system). That is why we have raised the demand for a caste census,” Mr. Gandhi said.
He said the Constitution is not for the 10 per cent of the country’s population, it is for all the citizens.
“The Constitution is protected by poor people, labourers, tribals and not (industrialist Gautam) Adani. If 90% people do not have participatory rights, the Constitution cannot be protected,” Mr. Gandhi said, adding, “Our aim is to protect the Constitution. This [the Constitution] is a protective shield for the poor, farmers and labourers. Without it, the situation would be as it used to be earlier in the times of kings and emperors, who did whatever they wanted”.
