�Bhopal: Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Monday said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was scared of conducting caste census and would never hold it.
Addressing ‘Jai Bapu, Jai Bheem, Jai Samvidhan’ rally at Mhow, the birthplace of Dr B R Ambedkar, in Indore district in Madhya Pradesh, Mr Gandhi said that the Congress would make a nationwide caste census soon after assuming power at the Centre as PM Mr Modi would never hold it.
The Congress leader said that the caste census would first be conducted in the states ruled by his party and a nationwide caste census would be held once his party returned to power at the Centre.
He pledged that the Congress would breach the wall of 50 percent-reservation when the party assumed power at the Centre.
The Congress would bring legislation in both houses of the parliament breaking the wall of 50 percent-reservation when it won power at the Centre, he said.
Mr Gandhi accused BJP and RSS of making attempts to change the constitution and said that the move was foiled when the BJP failed to touch 400-mark in the last Lok Sabha elections.
BJP wanted to secure 400 seats for this reason, he said.
He warned that the Dalits, backwards, tribals and the poor in the general category would be left high and dry once the constitution was changed.
Mr Gandhi accused the NDA-led government at the Centre of promoting crony capitalism, and said that this has led to shrinkage of employment opportunities for the Dalits, backward people, tribals and the poor in the general category.
“BJP and RSS want a pre-independence like situation where only ‘Rajas and Maharajas’ had their say and the poor had no say. Under the current Central government, only a few crony capitalists were handed over the wealth of the nation”, he said.
The Dalits, backward people, and tribals were being made slaves as employment opportunities were finished due to promotion of a few crony capitalists, he said.
He also launched a diatribe against the media, saying they were not bothered to highlight the real issues facing the people and the country and only interested in the coverage of marriage events of the industrialists.
The media also cover what is happening in Pakistan and Afghanistan, instead of highlighting the events taking place in India, he said.
“Yeh media Ambani-Adani ki shadi dikhati hai, sahi mudde jaise kisan,… nahin dikhati (Media is busy showing the Ambani-Adani wedding, distracting the public from the real issues”, he said.
Speaking on the occasion, AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge took a jibe at BJP leaders taking holy dip during the ‘Maha Kumbh’, saying that “A dip in Ganga will not eradicate poverty in the country”.
“BJP leaders are competing with each other in taking a dip in Ganga. They take a dip as long as they do not get a good picture on TV. A dip in Ganga will not remove poverty”, he said.
