Daijiworld Media Network – New Delhi
New Delhi, Mar 21: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Friday lashed out at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over his push for a caste census, a day after the Rae Bareli MP asserted that such an exercise would expose "inequality and discrimination" in India.
BJP MP Dinesh Sharma dismissed Gandhi’s stance, questioning why he continued to talk about caste despite acknowledging the strength of Sanatan Dharma. "At the Kumbh Mela, no one asked about caste. No one insulted anyone. No one got dengue or malaria. No one pelted stones. Yet, you still choose to talk about caste?" Sharma said.
"You have already lost. The more you ask for this, the more you will lose," he added, referring to Congress’s defeat in last year’s Lok Sabha elections.
Gandhi, in a video interaction with former University Grants Commission chairman Sukhdeo Thorat, had reiterated that a caste census was crucial for ensuring fair representation. He linked the demand to the historic Mahad Satyagraha led by Dr B R Ambedkar in 1927, stating that the struggle for equality continues.
Criticizing India’s merit-based system, Gandhi termed it ‘deeply flawed’ and ‘unfair’ towards Dalits, Other Backward Classes (OBCs), and tribals. He argued that the current system confuses social privilege with merit, making education and bureaucracy inaccessible to marginalized communities.
The Congress has promised a nationwide caste census if voted to power, a move strongly opposed by the BJP.