Caste census: BJP counters Congress’ ‘sarkar tumhari, system humara’ slogan | India Information – The Instances of India

NEW DELHI: Bharatiya Janata Celebration on Thursday criticised the Congress for taking credit score for the inclusion of caste-based enumeration within the upcoming census and questioned why earlier Congress governments had didn’t implement such a transfer.
Slamming Congress’ slogan “Sarkar tumhari, system humara” (Your authorities, our system), Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan mentioned that former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru was a “staunch opponent of caste-based reservations,” which is why a caste census was not carried out below his management.
Addressing a press convention, Pradhan mentioned, “They declare the federal government is theirs, and the system is ours. When this subject was raised, it ought to have been mentioned overtly. The nation deserves to know the reality. In 1951, whose authorities was it? Whose system was in place? The final caste census was carried out in 1931. The nation wasn’t unbiased in 1941, so it wasn’t carried out then. However in 1951, who was in energy? It was the late Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru.”
“That is well-known. If it weren’t for Babasaheb Ambedkar and Mahatma Gandhi, social sensitivity wouldn’t be a nationwide concern. If the recommendation of the Constituent Meeting had not been heeded, there can be no reservations at the moment. Why? As a result of the primary Prime Minister, Pandit Nehru, strongly opposed caste-based reservations. His opposition wasn’t restricted to phrases—he even wrote letters to state chief ministers on the time, warning that caste-based alternatives would degrade high quality,” he added.
Pradhan additional focused the Gandhi household for not performing on the Kaka Kalelkar Report and the Mandal Fee Report.
“Who managed the system? Who determined to suppress the Kaka Kalelkar Committee report for years? Even then, the so-called ‘First Household,’ which now speaks so arrogantly, held the reins of energy. The command lay with their grandmother, the then Prime Minister, the late Indira Gandhi,” he mentioned.
“The Janata Celebration authorities launched the Mandal Fee in 1977 to realign the course of social justice. At the moment, the BJP, in its earlier type as Jan Sangh, was a part of the Janata Celebration. Leaders like Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Lal Krishna Advani have been a part of that authorities. However who saved the Mandal Fee report locked away for a decade? Who was in energy? It was the Congress Celebration. That is sheer hypocrisy and conceitedness,” he added.
His remarks come after the Congress credited the Modi authorities’s choice to conduct a caste-based census to Rahul Gandhi’s persistent advocacy, calling it a victory for his imaginative and prescient.
“Rahul Gandhi ji mentioned, ‘Begin counting.’ Now the Modi authorities is making preparations for the rely,” Congress chief Jairam Ramesh wrote on X (previously Twitter). “When our chief Shri Rahul Gandhi ji referred to as the caste census the ‘X-ray of society,’ the ruling occasion mocked him, ignored him, and delayed motion.”
“He has lengthy demanded this—elevating the problem repeatedly in Parliament, at public gatherings, and through his travels. However how lengthy can the voice of tens of millions demanding their rights be ignored? Now that the Modi authorities has agreed to conduct a caste census, we are saying—higher late than by no means! It is a important step towards making certain social justice. It’s a victory for tens of millions of Indians who’ve lengthy fought for equality, equity, and illustration,” Ramesh added.
A caste census is systematic recording of people’ caste identities throughout a nationwide census. In India, the place caste deeply influences social, financial, and political life, such knowledge can present crucial insights into the distribution and socio-economic standing of varied caste teams. This data is significant for shaping insurance policies associated to affirmative motion and social justice.
Caste enumeration was a routine function of census workout routines throughout British rule, from 1881 to 1931. Nonetheless, with the primary census of unbiased India in 1951, the apply was discontinued—apart from the enumeration of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.