Congress Tastes Blood With ‘Caste Census’ Cabinet Nod
PM Narendra Modi and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi (Image credit X.com)
Congress Celebrates Cabinet Approval of Caste Census
By Amit Kumar
NEW DELHI, April 30, 2025 — The Congress party is celebrating the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs’ approval of caste enumeration in the next decennial census. The party plans to launch an aggressive outreach campaign starting Thursday to highlight that its leader, Rahul Gandhi, pressured the Narendra Modi-led government into the decision.
Congress communications chief Jairam Ramesh will hold an on-the-record briefing on the caste census decision Thursday at the party’s office in New Delhi. The Congress social media team has already launched a campaign to emphasize Gandhi’s role in securing government approval for the caste census.
“Rahul Gandhi said, ‘Count.’ Now the Modi government is conducting the count,” Ramesh posted on X. “When our leader said, ‘Caste census is the X-ray of society,’ ruling party members mocked him, ignored him, and delayed action.”
Ramesh added that Gandhi had long advocated for the census, raising the issue repeatedly in Parliament, public meetings, and marches. “How long can the voice of millions demanding their rights be suppressed? Now the Modi government has agreed to conduct the caste census.”
He called the decision “a decisive step toward ensuring social justice” and a victory for millions of Indians fighting for equality, equity, and representation.
Congress sources said the party will roll out extensive outreach in states to underscore Gandhi’s influence on the caste census decision. However, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders are countering by claiming the Modi government made the decision to benefit the public.
The BJP tasked former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan with explaining the committee’s decision. At a news conference in Bhopal, Chouhan challenged Congress’ narrative.
“Rahul ji, when the Mandal Commission emerged in the 1980s, it was Indira ji who opposed it. What was the late Rajiv ji’s stand on the caste census?” Chouhan asked.
The BJP is portraying Congress as historically anti-reservation. Chouhan noted that former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had promised in Parliament to consider a caste census and formed a Group of Ministers, but no census materialized.
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