Asansol (West Bengal) [India], May 1 : Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury on Thursday said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi became nervous because of Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi's 'Jitni Aabadi Utna Haq' slogan and then decided to conduct a caste census.
"For the last several years, under the leadership of Rahul Gandhi, there has been a continuous demand in the country that there should be a caste census in the country...Rahul Gandhi's slogan is 'Jitni Aabadi Utna Haq', and due to this slogan, Prime Minister Modi has become nervous. This is the big victory," Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury told reporters.
Congress General Secretary KC Venugopal welcomed the Centre's decision to conduct a caste census and credited Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi for continuously batting for a caste census.
"At last they (central government) agreed that the caste census is the need of the country and need of the hour. Since the last 3-4 years, (Lok Sabha) LoP Rahul Gandhi has been continuously batting for a caste census and raising the genuine issues of the people of this country...Whenever he does that, the BJP attacks him in a very bad manner...Our PM had told that in this country, only four castes are there, then what is the need for caste survey?... We are very happy," Venugopal told ANI.
Census is a Union subject under Article 246 of the Constitution, listed at item 69 in the Union List of the Seventh Schedule.
On Wednesday, Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, while announcing the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs' decision, highlighted concerns about the transparency and intent of some states' own caste censuses, claiming that some censuses were conducted "purely from a political angle."
"While some states have conducted surveys to enumerate castes, these surveys have varied in transparency and intent, with some conducted purely from a political angle, creating doubts in society. Considering all these circumstances, and to ensure that our social fabric does not come under political pressure, it has been decided that caste enumeration should be included in the main census instead of being conducted as a separate survey," Vaishnaw said.
Bihar, Karnataka and Telangana have already conducted a caste census in their respective state. Telangana has also implemented a 42 per cent backwards class reservation for people in the state.