The Congress will conduct a nationwide caste census if voted to power and implement 33% quota for women in national and state legislatures at the earliest, the party’s highest decision-making body announced on Monday, with senior leader Rahul Gandhi saying a caste-based headcount was a progressive and powerful step to emancipate poor people.
At a meeting in New Delhi, the Congress Working Committee (CWC) also promised removal of the 50% reservation cap through a legislation to ensure reservation to OBCs, Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in line with their share of population.
Also read: ‘Incapable’: Rahul Gandhi attacks PM Modi over caste census
Addressing a press conference after the meeting, the former Congress president attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi, alleging that the latter was incapable of conducting a caste census.
“The CWC has unanimously supported the idea of a caste census in the country. It is a progressive, historic and powerful step for the emancipation of the poor people in our country,” Gandhi said. Rahul Gandhi called the CWC decision “historic”, and said a caste census is the X-ray of India.Admitting that it was a mistake on the part of the Congress not to conduct a caste census when it was in power, he said, “We will accomplish what we could not achieve earlier. There is a need for this X-ray if we have to bring a new paradigm for development, where everyone gets justice.”
The press conference came hours after the Election Commission of India (ECI) announced assembly elections to five states — Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Telangana and Mizoram — in what is widely seen as a virtual semifinal for the 2024 general elections.
The CWC expressed concern over the Israel-Palestine conflict and re-iterated its long-standing support for the rights of the Palestinian people to land, while calling for immediate cessation of fire and de-escalation of the situation.
The CWC also planned to implement the 33% reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and state legislative assemblies at the earliest. The CWC also reiterated its previous demand of immediate removal of the chief minister of Manipur and imposition of President’s Rule in the state, “as the first step in resolving the crisis”.
“The Congress Working Committee (CWC) after a four-hour meeting has taken a historic decision and unanimously decided to support the idea of a caste census in the country. I think it is a very progressive and powerful step for the emancipation of the poor people in the country,” Gandhi said.
During the press conference, Gandhi expressed confidence that most constituents of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) will support a caste census. “There might be a few who have a slightly different position and that is fine. We are quite flexible and not fascist,” Gandhi added.
Flanked by the chief ministers of Karnataka, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Himachal Pradesh, Gandhi announced that states ruled by the Congress will carry forward caste census.
“We have unanimously decided that for India’s future a caste census is quintessential and we (CWC) have decided to do it and we promise that it will be done… if we make a commitment we ensure. But we will not stop at that, we will also conduct an economic survey in the country. What we have not done before, we will ensure it this time and to ensure justice to all, caste census becomes a necessity,” Gandhi said.
“Our chief ministers also believe that it is a very important step and are also considering to take action on this,” he said. He also accused the PM of working to distract the other backward classes (OBC) community and noted that only one of the 10 Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief ministers is OBC while three of the four Congress CMs come from the community. “PM Modi is incapable of doing the caste census… We have to ask him what has he done for OBCs? Modi never spoke a word on this…,” Gandhi alleged. “PM’s only work is to distract the OBC community and diverted their attention.”
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, who chaired the meeting at the party headquarters in Delhi, asked party workers to work in coordination, discipline and unity and put in all might to win the elections in five poll-bound states. Congress leader Sonia Gandhi on Monday said she was “100%” in support of the caste census.
“I am 100% with the caste census, we must get it done. This is our highest priority,” a person familiar with the development quoted Gandhi as saying in her only intervention during the meeting, news agency PTI reported.
Mizoram, the smallest of the poll-bound states with 40 seats, will vote on November 7. Elections in Chhattisgarh, which has a 90-member assembly, will be held in two phases on November 7 and 17. Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Telangana will go to the polls on November 17, 23 and 30 respectively. The Congress is looking to retain power in Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh, and snatch power in Madhya Pradesh, Telangana and Mizoram.
“As we approach the upcoming assembly elections and general elections [in 2024]it is important that the party works with meticulous coordination and complete discipline and unity,” Kharge said at the meeting. “Today, our nation faces inflation, unemployment, and government’s failure to implement the Old Pension Scheme. The ruling party’s divisive tactics and misuse of autonomous bodies pose a threat to democratic stability.”
Throwing his weight behind the nationwide caste census demand, the Congress chief said that for a proper share in welfare schemes, it is important to have socio-economic data on the condition of weaker sections of society and ensure social justice to them.
Kharge also said that his party would implement women’s reservation if voted to power in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. He also asked party workers to counter the “false propaganda” of the ruling BJP, saying that “attacks and falsehood would increase as elections approach”.
Reacting to the development, BJP national spokesperson Syed Zafar Islam said, “Rahul Gandhi and his team are misleading the nation and everyone knows that in the last 9.5 years, our government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi has done many things for the OBCs”.
“We made the OBC commission when Congress had not even dreamt about it. We have given them strong representation and given many seats to them… Caste census is the responsibility of the central government and it will be done at an appropriate time but the states ruled by unholy alliance are attempting to do it only to mislead the OBC community to gain some votes. But OBC community knows that they have always been neglected by the Congress and it’s the BJP government which has safe guarded their interest,” Islam said in his statement.
At the press conference, Gandhi asked for a show of hands from journalists to know how many of them were Dalits or OBCs to make a point that people from marginalised sections did not get their due share.
