AAP MLA Saurabh Bhardwaj said the caste-based census done in Bihar is correct (File)
Delhi Minister and Aam Aadmi Party leader Saurabh Bharadwaj alleged on Saturday that the BJP has made a U-turn on its stand on caste census but has not stated that the caste-based survey done by the Bihar government was a step in the right direction.
"This is a matter of happiness that, under the pressure of the people, the BJP has to take a U-turn on caste census... They have not said yet that the caste-based census done in Bihar is correct and government policies should be made according to it, "Saurabh Bharadwaj told news agency ANI.
"There is the pressure of elections and people on them...They have not said clearly whether the caste-based census that was done was right or not," he added.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah had said on Friday that the BJP never opposed caste census and the party will take appropriate decisions after discussions.
"We don't practice politics of appeasement for votes. We will take an appropriate decision (on caste census) after holding discussions (within the party). The BJP never opposed a caste census but decisions have to be taken after giving it a lot of thought," Amit Shah had said in Chhattisgarh.
Meanwhile, former Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad targeted Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over Congress's demand for caste census in the context of representation for OBCs.
"Rahul Gandhi has been speaking about the caste-based census. Congress leaders Kamal Nath and Digvijaya Singh are also following in his footsteps and humming the same tune. The thing about Rahul Gandhi is that when someone hands him a chit, he gets stuck on a particular issue. That's his brand of politics.
Earlier, he got similar chits about Rafale and Savarkar, and now Nitish Kumar has handed him the chit on the caste-based census," he said.
BJP leaders have said that the party has the highest representation of OBCs among MPs.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)