Today in Politics: Caste census is back in focus, with an unexpected BJP move
When the BJP announced that it would include caste enumeration in the next Census, it came as both good and bad news for the main opposition Congress and particularly its leader Rahul Gandhi.
The demand for a caste census has been the centerpiece of the Congress's social justice agenda to reach out to the OBCs, who have moved away from the party in the post-Mandal period and embraced the BJP since it came to power under Narendra Modi in 2014.
At the recent AICC Session in Ahmedabad, the Congress spoke extensively about caste, projecting itself as a trailblazer in implementing reservations. The party's resolution said, 'History bears witness to the fact that when the Supreme Court struck down reservations in 1951, it was the Congress Government under the leadership of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru that enacted the first amendment to the Constitution and added Article 15(4) in the Chapter on Fundamental Rights. Henceforth, the path for reservation based social justice was forever safeguarded.'
The apprehension within Congress ranks is that, in one stroke, Modi may have taken away one of its crucial planks. In fact, while announcing its decision on Wednesday to hold a caste census, the government slammed opposition parties for using it as a 'political tool'. Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said that while census comes under the purview of the Centre, some states had done caste enumeration in the name of surveys 'non-transparently' (a swipe at Congress-ruled Karnataka and Telangana, apart from Bihar).
He added that it was under Congress governments that caste had not been included in Census operations conducted since Independence, showing that it was not really for a caste census but used the issue as a political tool. 'Considering all these facts and to ensure that the social fabric is not disturbed by politics, caste enumeration should be transparently included in the Census instead of surveys,' he said, adding that this will strengthen the social and economic structure of society.
The Congress is hoping to counter this by claiming the announcement as a vindication of its demand. All of its leaders, including Rahul in an evening press conference, have already started doing so.
The ramifications of this move, how it will play out forward, and the larger caste politics in the country will dominate conversations going forward. The other Opposition parties will also take note of the Modi government's move. Among them, the Trinamool Congress has been against the idea of a caste census, though others are in favour. Whether the Congress along with them has the firepower to convince the people that the BJP government's decision came under sustained pressure from them will be the next test.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the World Audio Visual and Entertainment Summit (WAVES) in Mumbai on Thursday and Vizhinjam International Deepwater Multipurpose Seaport in Kerala on Friday.
A statement said Modi will be on a tour of three states, including Andhra Pradesh, over the next two days.
Modi will lay the foundation stone of and inaugurate multiple development projects worth over Rs 58,000 crore in Amaravati. He will also be addressing audiences at the events in the three states.
Gujarat foundation days
The Gujarat government will hold an official programme to celebrate the 65th state Foundation Day at Godhra in Panchmahal district on Thursday in the presence of Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel and Governor Acharya Devvrat, officials said.
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