Caste census is not in nation’s interest, says RSS Vidarbha leader

A resolution was recently adopted at RSS Pratinidhi Sabha emphasising the continuation of reservation till each individual progresses.

On Tuesday, ministers, MLAs and MLCs of the BJP and the Shiv Sena (Shinde faction) visited the RSS headquarters in Nagpur to pay obeisance at the memorial to RSS founder K B Hedgewar and second Sarsanghchalak MS Golwalkar.

However, the NCP faction led by Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar did not visit the RSS headquarters. The party said that Ajit had a scheduled meeting with editors in the morning. “The party is in alliance with the BJP and the Shiv Sena. But ideologically the NCP does not subscribe to the RSS’s world view. It has retained its secular credentials. So, it was not very comfortable to visit the RSS headquarters,” a party insider said.

But BJP leader Praveen Darekar said, “The NCP members should have joined us at the RSS headquarters. What difference would it have made if they had come along?”

After a brief introduction, Gadge addressed the high-profile visitors and said there should be no caste-based census. He emphasised on the family system, which he said had always been India’s strength, the environment and on making the country atmanirbhar (self-reliant).

The caste census issue has gained momentum since the Bihar government published the report of its caste-based survey. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has strongly advocated a caste census to ascertain the exact size of each caste community. Similar demands have come from several political parties.

In Maharashtra, Minister Chhagan Bhujbal of the NCP (Ajit Pawar faction) has pitched for a caste census to quantify the population of each community, including the OBCs and Marathas.

Earlier, Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had said the state government was not opposed to the idea of a caste census per se. “Our government is positive. But it does not want to conduct any hasty exercise as done by the Bihar government. Its report is ridden with flaws. Communities have questioned the report’s authenticity,” he said. “Any decision will be taken after adequate consultation with political parties and experts.”