Caste Census Battle: Political Win For Rahul Gandhi Or Strategic Move By BJP

A day after the Central government announced its decision to incorporate caste-based data in the forthcoming national census, a banner outside the Congress headquarters in New Delhi praised Rahul Gandhi with forcing the Narendra Modi administration to take the action.

The poster, put by Congress leader Srinivas BV, includes a giant image of Rahul Gandhi, the Opposition Leader in the Lok Sabha. It emphasises Gandhi's long-standing appeal for a statewide caste census, presenting it as a critical step towards expanding affirmative action for backward populations. The wording on the poster read: "We said Modi ji would have to conduct a caste census. We'll get it done. The world bows down; you only need someone to make it bow down."

Following the Centre's pronouncement, Rahul Gandhi took to social networking platform X (previously Twitter) to reiterate his stance, saying: "We stated Modi ji would have to conduct a caste census. We'll get it done. This is our objective, and we will ensure that the government conducts a transparent and effective caste census. And everyone is aware of which sections have what partnerships in the country's institutions and power structure. He also complimented individuals and organisations who supported the caste enumeration campaign, expressing delight in their efforts.

In Telangana, Congress supporters welcomed the decision by performing a traditional milk-ablution ceremony on posters of Rahul Gandhi and Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy. The function, held in Hyderabad, was a symbolic show of thanks for the leaders' efforts to promote the caste census.

The celebration fuels the political argument between the BJP-led Central government and the Congress over who should take credit for initiating the caste census. Rahul Gandhi has regularly emphasised caste enumeration as an important tool for understanding social structure, referring to it as "society's X-ray and MRI."

But BJP IT cell chief Amit Malviya rebuffed the Congress' attempt to claim authorship of the move. Malviya cited historical backdrop, stating that under the UPA government in 2010, then-Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh informed the Lok Sabha that the Cabinet would consider conducting a caste census.

Malviya emphasised that, while a Cabinet Committee was constituted and most political parties supported caste-based enumeration, the Congress-led government ultimately decided to conduct a socioeconomic survey (SECC) rather than a full-fledged caste census.

This ongoing battle between the BJP and the Congress highlights the growing political importance of caste-based data, particularly in the run-up to the 2019 general elections.