Congress leader Rahul Gandhi reiterated calls for a caste census on Monday following Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s assertion that he was the ‘biggest OBC’. The Wayanad MP — currently travelling through Jharkhand for the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra — said the PM appeared to ‘get confused’ during his address in Parliament and urged him to ‘decide first’. Gandhi said that it was necessary to count members of the community if the administration ‘wanted to give them participation’.
“The question is in front of everyone. PM calls himself OBC. In between he got confused and then started saying that there are only two castes in the country – rich and poor. So he should decide first…We want caste census to be done…” Gandhi said.
Prime Minister Modi had come down heavily on the Congress and other Opposition parties during an address in Parliament on Sunday, accusing the UPA government of not delivering justice with OBCs.
“Congress can’t tolerate OBCs…They keep counting how many OBCs are there in government. Can’t you (Congress) see the biggest OBC here (pointing towards himself)?” PM Modi said during his reply to the ‘Motion of Thanks’ on the President’s address.
“This question is not just of one person but of the people of India. As an example, there are only three OBCs out of 90 IAS in Delhi. You will not find Dalits and tribals in the health and education system. Name any OBC owner among the top 100 corporate companies in India. You might have heard the names of Adani, Tata, and Birla but there is no name of any OBC. What kind of country would there be in India of injustice?” he added.
PM Modi however laid the blame squarely with the UPA government.
“During the UPA Government, an extra-constitutional body was formed. The government could not have its way before that body. National Advisory Council – did it have any OBC members? Find out,” he added.
(With inputs from agencies)
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Published: 06 Feb 2024, 04:11 PM IST