INDIA rift widening? Akhilesh Yadav slams Congress on caste census
What's the story
Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav has called out previous Congress-led central governments for not implementing caste census.
In Madhya Pradesh's Satna, he jibed the Congress and party leader Rahul Gandhi, saying those talking about X-rays were the same who stopped the caste census after independence.
Yadav's INDIA opposition bloc colleague Gandhi earlier likened the exercise to an X-ray to know the Other Backward Classes (OBCs)' problems.
The war of words comes ahead of the MP assembly elections on Friday.
Context
Why does this story matter?
The issue of caste census has become a significant political topic as opposition parties increasingly voice their support for it ahead of next year's Lok Sabha elections.
Last week, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's Bihar government presented a complete report of its statewide caste survey.
However, CM Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress (TMC) in West Bengal—part of the INDIA—has expressed opposition to the caste census.
Interestingly, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which staunchly opposed it earlier, seems to be softening its stance.
Details
Yadav slams Congress for not conducting caste census
Yadav, on Monday, took direct aim at the Congress for not enforcing the Mandal Commission's recommendations for OBC reservations and opposing caste-based census after India's independence.
He told ANI, "When [Mulayam Singh Yadav], Sharad Yadav, Lalu Prasad Yadav, and parties from South India raised the demand in Lok Sabha, the Congress refused to do it."
Yadav claimed that the Congress was now inclined toward the census only because it was aware that its traditional voter base no longer supported it.
What Next?
Yadav mocks RaGa's 'X-ray' remark
Last month, while campaigning in MP, Gandhi had described the caste census as an "X-ray" that would reveal information about various communities in India.
In his latest comments, Yadav took a jab at Gandhi's remarks, saying an X-ray was "the need of that time."
"Now we have MRI and CT scans. The disease has now spread. If this problem was solved back then, such a gap wouldn't have existed in the society today," the SP leader quipped.
Twitter Post
Watch: Akhilesh Yadav slams RaGa's 'X-ray' comment
#WATCH | Satna, Madhya Pradesh: On Rahul Gandhi's statement, SP Chief Akhilesh Yadav says, "...Congress is the party which did not conduct caste census after independence... When all the parties in the Lok Sabha were demanding a caste census, they did not conduct a caste census.… pic.twitter.com/aYEaUU9SwT
— ANI (@ANI) November 13, 2023
Details
Last caste census was published in 1931
To note, the last caste-based census was published under British rule in 1931, which is still utilized for India's action policy.
Earlier this year, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge had written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, demanding that a comprehensive, up-to-date caste census be conducted in the country.
The ruling BJP government previously opposed the issue, but recently Union Home Affairs Minister Amit Shah asserted the saffron party never had an issue with the survey but needed to hold extensive consultations.