"BJP Not Against Caste Census, Congress Wants It To Divide People": JP Nadda

The BJP is not against caste census but the Congress wants to carry out the exercise to divide society, the ruling party's chief JP Nadda said in Chhindwara in Madhya Pradesh on Friday.

The Narendra Modi government's focus was on empowerment of 'GYAN' or Garib, Yuva, Annadata-Kisan and Narishakti (poor, youth, farmers and women), whose progress is key for the development of the nation, Nadda asserted.

"We are not against conducting caste census, but Congress wants to carry out the exercise to divide people. The opposition parties are in disarray as PM Modi has changed the way politics is being done in the country. Earlier, it was based on caste, religion, region etc. The Congress pitted brother against brother," he said.

"Under PM Modi, the politics of development has taken centre-stage. People want to be associated with development. Politics now is not based on vote banks and appeasement but on your report card and the ability to carry out responsibilities," the BJP president further said.

PM Modi had taken bold decisions like abrogating Article 370 in Jammu-Kashmir, construction of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya and implementation of 'One Rank One Pension' (OROP) for the welfare of ex-servicemen, he said.

Before 2014, the country was plagued with corruption but now "India is not a pleading nation but a leading nation".

"India is now the fifth largest economy in the world, bigger than that of United Kingdom, which ruled the country once. In Modi's third term, India's economy will reach third position by 2027. Electronics exports have increased six times, medicine exports by 138 per cent and petrochemical exports have increased by 108 per cent," he said hailing the Modi dispensation.

"Fourteen medical colleges are being set up in MP. The state government's Ladli Behna Yojana is empowering women. The Modi government passed the Women Reservation Bill. The next polls will be conducted under the provisions of the new Act," Mr Nadda said.

The Congress-led Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA), on the other hand, has come together to save the corrupt and their own families, Mr Nadda claimed.

Chhindwara, a bastion of senior Congress leader Kamal Nath, is the only seat the opposition party won in MP in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. The remaining 28 seats were won by the Bharatiya Janata Party.

Praising the large turnout, Mr Nadda said it was obvious people want to elect a local leader this time.

The Congress gave tickets from in Madhya Pradesh to just one family, Mr Nadda said.

"Kamal Nath and his (sitting MP) son Nakul Nath represent dynastic politics just like Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi. Only in the BJP, the son of a poor family becomes PM. The same applies to MP CM Mohan Yadav and (senior leader) Kailash Vijayvargiya," Mr Nadda said.

Sitting MP Nakul Nath is pitted against BJP's Vivek Bunty Sahu.

Speaking on the occasion, CM Yadav said Kamal Nath and his son are outsiders.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)