National Desk, 30th September: Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge fired back at Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday, September 30, accusing the BJP of avoiding crucial national issues. Shah had previously criticized Kharge for linking his health concerns to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In response, Kharge, who is also the Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, took to social media platform X (formerly Twitter) to question Shah’s priorities and demanded attention to pressing matters, including the ongoing Manipur crisis and the need for a caste census.
Kharge cited data from a survey conducted by the BJP-led NDA government, which showed that 92% of urban sewer and septic tank cleaners belong to the Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST), and Other Backward Classes (OBC) categories. He argued that the BJP’s opposition to a caste-based census stemmed from their reluctance to expose the socio-economic conditions of marginalized communities and the specific roles they occupy in the labor force.
“The BJP is against the caste census because it would reveal which segments of society are engaged in specific types of labor, such as cleaning sewers and septic tanks. It would also show the economic and social conditions of SC, ST, OBC, and Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) and help determine the benefits they should be receiving from government schemes,” Kharge asserted.
Kharge reaffirmed the Congress party’s commitment to conducting a caste-based census, emphasizing the need to recognize and address caste-based disparities. “The Congress party is determined to ensure the caste census is carried out. We will get it done,” he declared, reinforcing the party’s agenda to bring this issue into the spotlight.
In the aftermath of Kharge’s comments, the debate over the caste census has resurfaced, highlighting the growing divide between the ruling BJP and the opposition on this contentious issue.
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