BJP MP criticizes Rahul Gandhi on caste census claims

Shimla MP and former state president of BJP Suresh Kashyap on Thursday lashed out at the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, over "claiming" credit for the central government's decision to conduct a caste-based census across the country.

He said, "Rahul Gandhi is claiming credit for something Congress could never deliver in 60 years while being in power." Addressing the media in Shimla, Kashyap said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's decision to conduct a caste-based census is a historic decision aimed at society's welfare.

Criticizing the Congress party, Kashyap cited historical instances and said, "When Jawahar Lal Nehru was the PM, he had written a letter to chief ministers in which he had expressed his opposition to caste-based reservation... Not only this, but Congress had also suppressed the Kaka Kalelkar Commission's report, which recommended measures for backward classes." He further said that when the Mandal Commission was introduced in the 1980s, then PM Indira Gandhi opposed its report. "Rahul Gandhi should also remember his father Rajiv Gandhi's stance on the issue of a caste-based census." Kashyap further said that the UPA government led by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Sonia Gandhi had assured to consider a caste-based census in a cabinet meeting, and a group of ministers was also formed, but no such census was carried out.

Only a survey, known as the Socio-Economic and Caste Census (SEC), was conducted, which was also riddled with errors, he pointed out.