The doors of southern India have been "locked" for the BJP, Mallikarjun Kharge said. (File)
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday said his party wants a census of the backward classes as it will provide precise data about their status, and help in devising measures for their welfare.
He also slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi for accusing the Congress of trying to divide the country, and dared the Union government to immediately implement the reservation for women in legislatures if the BJP was really concerned about women.
Speaking at the Congress government's 'Bharose ka Sammelan' gathering at Kodatarari village in Raigarh district of Chhattisgarh, a state where assembly elections are due by the year-end, Mallikarjun Kharge accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) of having "anti-women ideology".
"They (BJP) say the Congress opposed the women's reservation bill. Who brought amendments (to the Constitution) and ensured reservation for women in panchayat bodies? It was the Congress," Mallikarjun Kharge said.
Be it the Jan Sangh, BJP or RSS, their ideology has been "anti-women", he said, adding that they do not want women to "come forward".
"If they are concerned about women, backward classes and the poor, they should implement the legislation on women's reservation on the basis of the existing strength of Parliament," Mr Kharge said, claiming that the new Act granting 33 per cent reservation to women in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies will not be implemented before 2034.
"The other thing is the OBC census. We want a census of backward classes as it will provide information about how many of them are very backward, how many of them are literate, who are economically backward, how many are from scheduled castes and tribes, etc. The census will provide all these details and we would be able to take measures to support them and for their welfare," the Congress chief said.
"For all these things, we have been demanding that there should be a census of the backward classes and poor people, " he said.
"It (caste census) is already ready in Karnataka but did not come out in the public domain but now it will be published. In Bihar, it was released two-three days back. But Modi sahab says the opposition wants to divide the country and snatch the rights of women. Modi ji, now people have become aware. Modi sahab should know he was elected in 2014 and then by mistake in 2019. The game will not continue further and not survive for long as every community has become aware," the Congress chief said.
The Congress fought to protect the country's unity, and Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi sacrificed their lives for it, he said, adding that Rahul Gandhi took out a foot march and fought for the backward people.
"We have given representation to the OBCs. Three out of four chief ministers of Congress are OBCs," Mr Kharge added.
Prime minister Modi, at a rally in Chhattisgarh on Tuesday, had slammed the Congress for seeking a caste census and accused the grand old party of trying to divide Hindus to destroy the country.
Mr Kharge also called PM Modi "jhoothon ke sardar", accusing him of lying.
The prime minister visited Chhattisgarh but did not speak about the issues of "jal-jungle-zameen" (water-forests-land), rather he kept abusing the state government, the Congress chief said.
"Modi ji said the state government has been committing corruption in cow dung procurement. It is the BJP which commits corruption in the name of cow. Modi ji is not able to tolerate how the Bhupesh Baghel government has been supporting cottage industries. The Chhattisgarh government has given Rs 1.75 lakh crore to the people through direct benefit transfer, 40 lakh people were pulled out of poverty, and people's income has gone up by 38 per cent in five years. The BJP ruled the state for 15 years but could not do what Congress has done in five years. Instead of praising the Baghel government, Modi sahab abuses it," he said.
Mallikarjun Kharge also claimed that Gujarat, PM Modi's home state, has never witnessed the kind of developmental work the Congress government has done in Chhattisgarh.
"If you accept the Gujarat model, you will suffer; if you accept the Chhattisgarh model, you will be protected," he said.
On the prime minister's claim that the Congress was being run through outsourcing, Kharge said, "It is not us, they (BJP) have done outsourcing. Adani and other bigwigs are running the BJP government at the Centre. We have lakhs of party workers and leaders who are running our party." He also accused Modi of threatening the chief ministers of non-BJP-ruled states by using the central investigation agencies.
"The BJP has been misusing the ED, IT and CBI. If you need the CBI and ED to run the country, then there is no need for you (Modi)," he said.
The BJP's "guarantee" is that it will harass people, while the Congress's "guarantee" is to create employment, provide essential items through PDS shops and increase the crop support prices for farmers, Mr Kharge added.
"I request Modi ji to cancel one public meeting of his, and visit Manipur as that state has been witnessing riots for the past six months. Why is Modi ji silent over Manipur? Why does not he have courage to visit it? I think Modi ji has lost courage," he said.
The doors of southern India have been "locked" for the BJP, Mallikarjun Kharge said.
"BJP is not in power in Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, and Congress is going to win Telangana in the coming elections. People of south India are saying the BJP should not be elected there," he said.
Chief Minister Baghel was also present at the function.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)