PM Modi
Within hours of the Bihar government releasing the report of its contentious statewide caste census, the prime minister of India, Narendra Modi, accused the opposition of “trying to divide the country in the name of caste.” The Prime Minister slammed the opposition in election-bound Madhya Pradesh for failing to achieve development while in power and for “playing with the feelings of the poor” without mentioning the survey or any particular party.
“They played with emotions of the poor back then… and even today they are playing the same game. Earlier they divided the country in the name of caste… and today they are committing the same sin. Earlier they were guilty of corruption… and today they are even more corrupt,” PM said in Gwalior.
The Prime Minister also called any attempt at “division on caste lines” a “sin”.
Many interpreted the prime minister’s remarks as a two-pronged jab at the Congress, Madhya Pradesh’s main opposition party, and the Janata Dal (United), which rules Bihar and is an ex-ally of the BJP and has promised to undertake a similar caste-based poll if it wins elections later this year.
Taking to Twitter Rahul Gandhi said, “The (Congress-led) UPA government had, in fact, completed this census but its results were not published by the Modi government. Such a census is essential for providing a firmer foundation for social empowerment programmes and for deepening social justice.”
Survey findings revealed that over 20% of the state’s population is from Scheduled Castes or Tribes and around 63% of the population is from backward classes. The so-called “upper classes,” who formerly controlled Bihar politics until the Mandal report, make up the “general population,” which comprises around 15.5% of the population. Following Bihar’s caste-based survey, the pressure on the BJP to conduct a national caste census would however intensify after today.
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