BJP sought caste census during UPA rule: OBC Morcha chief

Bhopal: The BJP on Friday mounted its attack on the Congress for taking credit for the Centre's decision to carry out a caste census, saying the main opposition party intends to "mislead people for vote politics"."The decision taken for the caste census is a historic step. The Congress is today spreading the propaganda that the Modi govt took the decision of caste census under the pressure of Rahul Gandhi," BJP OBC Morcha national president K Laxman said here on Friday."I want to ask Rahul Gandhi and Congress leaders that for decades they were in power in the country and three members of the Nehru-Gandhi family were prime ministers. Why did Rahul Gandhi not demand a caste census at that time? Today, when he is in the opposition, he is talking about caste census to mislead people for vote bank politics," he said at a massive workshop of the party's OBC Morcha.Laxman said during the Manmohan Singh govt, BJP demanded a caste census.The workshop was also addressed by BJP state president VD Sharma, state BJP organisational general secretary Hitanand Sharma, state BJP backward classes front chief Narayan Singh Kushwaha, and cabinet minister Krishna Gaur.Laxman said caste census has been taking place in the country since the British era, but after the independence of the country, the first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru stopped the practice of caste census through the Central Census Act. "Pt Nehru shelved the report of the Kaka Kalelkar Committee. OBC Commission was not formed. Later, the govt of Morarji Desai constituted the Mandal Commission. The govt of Indira Gandhi also maintained silence on it, and the govt of VP Singh implemented it," Laxman recalled.He said in 1961, Pt Nehru wrote a letter to the chief ministers of the states and said that reservation should be done on an economic basis.Laxman claimed that the BJP never backed down from the matter of caste census. "When the Modi govt was formed in 2014, the then Union home minister Rajnath Singh said that we will do the census by adding castes, but due to the Covid crisis, it could not be possible," he said.