Senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday said if INDIA bloc is elected to power in 2024, it would conduct a caste census, along with a financial survey to know the situation and status on the ground. Saying that “caste survey is social X-ray”, Rahul said an estimated 73 per cent OBCs, SCs and STs of the country have marginal or no representation in big corporates, media houses or even in high courts. Addressing a public meeting at Aurangabad during the second leg of his ongoing Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, Rahul said PM Narendra Modi, who used to claim that he was an OBC, now says that there were only two castes — rich and poor. Though Aurangabad and adjoining Sasaram Lok Sabha seats once used to be strongholds of the Congress, the two seats had been represented by BJP for the last two polls. Rahul would enter UP on Friday after travelling to Gaya. Beginning his speech by asking the public “how was their mood”, Rahul reiterated his stand on caste census, which he termed as “revolutionary” a step as was the country’s Freedom Movement, Green Revolution, and bank nationalisation. Alleging that the Modi government was working “only for a few rich people”, Rahul said: “You recently saw the inauguration of Ram temple in Ayodhya. Did you see any farmer, labourer or unemployed person there?” “The next step of social justice is conducting a caste census. We also talked about legal guarantee for the minimum support price to farmers. After we started saying so, PM Modi started saying that there were only two castes — rich and poor. One would recall that we had waived farm loans worth Rs 72,000 crore. Social justice will come with economic justice.” Taking a swipe at PM Modi, Rahul said: “I have heard that the PM is embracing some king in Dubai. I am meeting people…The RSS and BJP are engaged in igniting caste versus caste and religion versus religion fights. Manipur was put on fire.”
