MP: Caste Census will Ensure Participation of OBC, Dalits, Tribals in Govt: Rahul

BHOPAL: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday pledged to conduct a caste census in Madhya Pradesh if his party comes to power in the state in the November 17 assembly elections.

Addressing an election rally in Ashok Nagar under Gwalior-Chambal region in the state, Mr Gandhi said that caste census is an ‘X-ray’ that is necessary to ensure participation of Other Backward Classes (OBCs), scheduled castes and scheduled tribes in the government as per their population.

He said that the Congress has included caste census in its election manifesto and accused BJP of opposing it.

“Prime Minister Narendra Modi calls himself an OBC, but when it comes to caste census he says there is only one caste in India and that is the poor”, he said.

He attacked the Centre over its disinvestment policy, saying that the privatisation of public sector units have resulted in the OBCs, dalits and tribals being left out of the government recruitment.

Mr Gandhi said that Goods and Services Tax (GST) is being collected from these ‘poor sections of society’ and the amount is used to give loans to big industrialists.

Mr Gandhi alleged that incidents of atrocities on tribals in the state are growing and cited a viral video which captured a man urinating on a tribal in Sidhi district in the state.

The incident had triggered outrage at the national level prompting the chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan to invite the victim to his official residence here to personally apologise to him.