On Caste Census, Rahul Gandhi Talks Of "Mistake" By UPA While In Power

Congress's Rahul Gandhi said today that it was a "mistake' of the erstwhile UPA government not to conduct a caste census when they were the ones to come up with the idea. But the party, he added, plans to rectify it, starting with the caste survey in Congress-ruled states of Telangana and Karnataka. A Congress-JMM victory in Jharkand will ensure a similar exercise in the eastern state as well, he added.

Speaking at Jharkhand's Ranchi, Mr Gandhi, the Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha, said, "The UPA and Congress came out with the idea of a caste census. I consider it a mistake that we did not implement it then".

The party, he added, is conducting a detailed exercise in the two southern states -- meeting different stakeholders and "preparing the questions of the caste census through a public discussion".

The Congress, he said, has a "very clear vision" for the caste census. 
The current lack of data on Backward Classes hinders effective policymaking and equitable distribution of wealth, he underscored. "Once we have accurate data, we can develop policies to ensure justice for all sections," he said.

"I guarantee you that when we implement the caste census, which we will do, as I have committed in the Lok Sabha and we will do in Jharkhand, it will be a huge step in the transformation and development of this country... The BJP people have no idea even how to do this, even if they wanted to do it," he added. 

The Congress has promised to remove the 50 per cent cap on reservation after conducting a caste census -- a plan the BJP has slammed as politics of regionalism, religion, and linguistic differences. 

"By speaking about abolishing reservations in the country, Rahul Gandhi has once again brought the Congress's anti-reservation face to the forefront. The thoughts that were in his mind eventually found their way out as words," Union minister Amit Shah had said when Mr Gandhi spoke of this issue abroad.

Ahead of the ongoing assembly election in Jharkhand, Mr Gandhi has promised to increase quota for the Scheduled Castes and Tribes and the Other Backward Classes in the state if the Grand Alliance came to power.