Rajnath Asks Rahul Gandhi to Specify Quota for Every Community After Caste Census
Mumbai: Union minister Rajnath Singh on Saturday addressed a meeting of Hindi speaking people at a hotel in Mumbai. Around 23 lakh north Indian voters are in Mumbai. Mr Singh said that the party had not achieved the desired result in Lok Sabha election from Haryana and Maharashtra, but the situation has now changed as is evident from the Haryana Assembly election result. The senior BJP leader also questioned the logic behind Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s promise of caste census. “What will he do with data?” he asked.
Senior BJP leader Kripashankar Singh and BJP leader Akhilesh Chaubey-led Parishram Sanstha (organisation) organised the event at a hotel in Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC). A large number of intellectuals from the North Indian community residing in Mumbai attended the programme, which was also attended by Mumbai BJP president Ashish Shelar, north Indian leaders and prominent personalities from business, education, medical field and legal fraternity.
Mr Singh said that the mood of the people has changed as the BJP is coming to power with clear majority in Jharkhand there is a conducive atmosphere in Maharashtra for the BJP in comparison to the Lok Sabha election. “We are hopeful that our government will come here as well,” he said.
Taking a swipe at Rahul Gandhi’s demand for caste census, the senior BJP leader said that Mr. Gandhi has been repeatedly saying that he is committed to conducting a caste census in the country. “Rahul should tell what he will do after conducting the caste census?,” he asked.
Mr Singh went on saying that the Congress leader should first make a blueprint and present it before the country as to how much reservation Mr Gandhi would give to which castes after conducting caste census. “There should be a discussion in the country on this issue and a consensus should be formed over the same. But he will not do it as he wants to gain support only by misleading the people,” the senior BJP leader said.
Referring to caste census during the UPA government, he said that the caste census was done in the country in 2011. “There are more than one lakh castes and sub-castes. However, the report was not published. A few years ago, the Ministry of Social Justice had conducted a caste census. Several thousand backward castes, scheduled castes and scheduled tribes were found in the census. Perhaps, he (Rahul Gandhi) thinks that a government can be formed by misleading the people,” Mr.Singh said.
In the recently concluded Lok Sabha election, the BJP led Mahayuti alliance won only 18 out of 48 Lok Sabha seats in Maharashtra including two out of six seats in Mumbai. The BJP won only one out of three seats it contested in Mumbai. Its alliance partner Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena won the Mumbai North West seat by the margin of mere 48 votes.
By roping in the north Indian stalwart leaders like Rajnath Singh and Yogi Adityanath, the party is trying to consolidate its north Indian votes in Mumbai. The north Indian voters can play a major role in 20 out of 36 Assembly seats in the city. The north Indian community is a decisive factor on at least nine seats, namely Dahisar, Kalina, Andheri (East), Versova, Dindoshi, Malad, Goregaon, Jogeshwari and Chandivali.
