NEW DELHI: BJP on Thursday hailed the Centre’s decision to include caste enumeration in the next census as evidence of the NDA’s commitment to social justice, asserting that it exposed the contrast between the Modi govt’s genuine efforts and Congress’s hollow rhetoric.
At a press conference, Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan, a prominent OBC face of BJP, called the caste enumeration a “gamechanger decision” and recounted instances when Congress opposed reservations.
He accused Congress, particularly its ‘first family’, of hypocrisy on social justice, saying members of the Nehru-Gandhi family have opposed reservations, starting with the first PM who wrote to CMs to oppose caste-based quotas. “It became a practice with them. Indira Gandhi did not act on the recommendations of the Kalelkar committee for extending reservations to OBCs, Rajiv Gandhi opposed the recommendations of the Mandal commission, and Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi did nothing to promote OBCs’ welfare during the UPA decade, when they called the shots,” said the education minister.
He said Rahul remembered OBCs’ interests only after Congress had been rejected with no sign of the party regaining power anytime soon. “Their statements reflect that the approach to social justice is just a facade, often confined to political gains for their family. In contrast, PM Modi, who hails from a humble, disadvantaged background, has not only advocated for social justice but has also made it a reality through policies and execution,” he said. Stating “the only caste count was done in 1931, before Independence”, he asked, “Why didn’t they do it in 1951 and after? Who was in office, who controlled govt (sic)?”