New Delhi: In his first reaction to the Modi government's announcement to include caste enumeration in the forthcoming census exercise, LoP in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi said addressing a Press Conference that Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government adopted the Congress party's vision .The Congress leader also demanded the timeline for the caste census exercise.
Demanding a timeline for the caste census exercise he said, "We had said in Parliament that we will carry out a caste census and remove the 50% reservation cap,” Gandhi stated, adding, "We fully support the government and are ready to help design the caste census, using models like Telangana’s. But the government must give a timeline."
Rahul Gandhi reiterating his stance on removing the 50% reservation cap said, "We had stated in Parliament that we would ensure the caste census takes place. We had also committed to removing the 50% cap- an artificial barrier on reservations. PM Modi used to claim there are only four castes. We don’t know what changed, but suddenly, after 11 years, the caste census has been announced."
Hailing the caste survey conducted by Congress-led Telangana government he said,"Telangana has become a model in the caste census, and it can become a blueprint," he said. "There are two examples - Bihar's and Telangana's and there is a vast difference between the two," Gandhi added.
The census, originally scheduled for April 2020, was delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
