New Delhi: The BJP on Friday accused the Congress of misleading the country on caste enumeration, asserting that it is the Modi government which decided to conduct it for the first time in Independent India.
BJP national spokesperson Sambit Patra said the Congress and its allies were in power at the Centre for over six decades but never conducted a caste census.
“They (Congress and its allies) never conducted a caste census. The first caste census will be carried out under our government,” Patra said.
“Prime Minister Narendra Modi has shown that everything he does is meant for policy transformation aimed at bringing fundamental changes in people’s lives for social justice,” the BJP spokesman said.
Referring to the Congress Working Committee (CWC) resolution on the issue, Patra said the opposition is trying to mislead everyone.
Patra also said that it was the Congress prime ministers, right from the time of Jawaharlal Nehru, who gave slogans to remove poverty but it was Narendra Modi who actually worked to curb it.
Even the World Bank has said that more than 17 crore people came out of poverty under the Modi government, Patra said.
Similarly, it is the BJP-led government which has taken the crucial decision on caste census, Patra added.
“It is one thing to give speeches on the welfare of different castes and another to take a decision to make policies for their upliftment,” he said.
The Congress, which has claimed credit for the Centre’s announcement on caste enumeration by citing Rahul Gandhi’s campaign in its support, on Friday asked the government to announce a “clear timeline” for every stage of such an exercise.
The Congress also reiterated its demand for removing the “arbitrary ceiling” of 50 per cent on reservations for SCs, STs and OBCs.
In a major decision, the Modi government on Wednesday announced that caste enumeration will be included in the next census exercise in a “transparent” manner.
