The need for a caste census was underscored by most Opposition leaders who joined a meet o social justice convened by MK Stalin, the chief of Tamil Nadu's ruling DMK, today. This is the second opposition meet held by the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, who has emerged as the interlocutor pushing for opposition unity ahead of next year's general election.
The DMK has denied any political angle to the meet, saying it was trying to take the social justice movement forward. But Trinamool Congress's Derek O Brien, said, "We should not shy away from the fact that this is a political platform" and urged Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and his Andhra Pradesh counterpart Jagan Mohan Reddy to join in such forums.
"Two or three parties do not want to fight the BJP. It is not the time to be grey. It is the time to be black or white. We have a task... I appeal to BJD that they should come together... Naveen Patnaik got to be here. Also, the YSR Congress Party," he said.
The second national conference on social justice was attended by Chief Ministers Ashok Gehlot, and Hemant Soren, former Chief Ministers Farooq Abdullah and Akhilesh Yadav, Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav, Trinamool's Derek O'Brien, Left leaders Sitaram Yechury and D Raja.
Other Opposition parties -- Arvind Kejriwal's Aam Aadmi Party, Telangana's Bharat Rashtra Samithi, Sharad Pawar's Nationalist Congress Party -- have also joined in.
This is the first such attempt after the disqualification of Congress's Rahul Gandhi from parliament, which is seen to have brought the opposition together.
Recently the DMK held a rally that brought together many opposition leaders on Chief Minister M K Stalin's 70th birthday.
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