Caste census: Has Modi govt pulled carpet from under it, or can Rahul, Congress claim ground?
The demand for a caste census has also been the centerpiece of the Congress's social justice agenda to reach out to the OBCs, who have moved away from the party in the post-Mandal period and embraced the BJP since it came to power under Narendra Modi in 2014.
The Congress, especially Gandhi, believes the party can make an electoral comeback only if the backward classes return to it. At the CWC meeting held on the eve of the recent AICC Session in Ahmedabad, he mentioned Uttar Pradesh specifically regarding this.
The apprehension within Congress ranks is that, in one stroke, Modi may have taken away one of its crucial planks. In fact, while announcing its decision on Wednesday to hold a caste census, the government slammed opposition parties for using it as a 'political tool'. Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said that while census comes under the purview of the Centre, some states had done caste enumeration in the name of surveys 'non-transparently' (a swipe at Congress-ruled Karnataka and Telangana, apart from Bihar).
He added that it was under Congress governments that caste had not been included in Census operations conducted since Independence, showing that it was not really for a caste census but used the issue as a political tool. 'Considering all these facts and to ensure that the social fabric is not disturbed by politics, caste enumeration should be transparently included in the Census instead of surveys,' he said, adding that this will strengthen the social and economic structure of society.
The Congress is hoping to counter this by claiming the announcement as a vindication of its demand.
It was in April 2023 that Gandhi first raised the slogan of 'jitni aabadi, utna haq' or proportional representation, ahead of the Karnataka Assembly elections. As the BJP hit back by saying this meant that those with lower numbers would lose out under the Congress, the party moderated its stand later the same year.
In a meeting held in October, the CWC didn't make an argument for proportional representation but passed a resolution that said, 'a nationwide caste census will reveal an accurate picture of the socio-economic position of communities across the country and provide a sound, data-driven basis for policies'.
Gandhi, though, largely stuck to his line and added another layer – the need to breach a general 50% ceiling on reservation set by the Supreme Court.
The Congress manifesto for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections promised two things – the party would conduct a nationwide Socio Economic and Caste Census to enumerate castes, sub-castes and their socio-economic conditions if voted to power; and that, based on it, would strengthen its affirmative action including passing a constitutional amendment to raise the 50% cap on reservations.
In April last year during the election campaign, Gandhi said: 'As soon as we form the government… the first job would be holding a caste census… Don't think caste census is just caste survey… we will add economic and institutional surveys to that. It means the country will get to know… ki iss jaat main itne log hain, Dalit itne, Adivasi itne, gareeb, general caste itne… Unki aamdani itni hai aur Hindustan ke sansthaon mein inki itni bhagidari hai (that there are these many people in this caste, so many Dalits, Adivasis, poor and the upper castes. That this is their income and this is their share in the institutions of the country).'
The Congress leader said: 'We will hold a financial and institutional survey after that. Yeh pata lagayenge ki Hindustan ka dhan kiske hathon mein hai, kaun se varg ke haath mein hai. Aur is aitihasik kadam ke baad hum krantikari kaam shuru karenge… Jo aapka haq banta jai, woh hum aapke liye aapko dene ka kaam karenge (We will find out who holds the country's wealth, what class of people. And after this historic step, we will take revolutionary measures… What is your right, we will ensure we get it for you).'
PM Modi countered this saying the Congress was planning to 'redistribute wealth', playing up Congress leader Sam Pitroda's remarks on an inheritance tax on the wealthy, and made his famous mangalsutra jibe. 'The Shehzada of the Congress has promised 'X-ray' of people's wealth, meaning what is in the locker, the land, gold, silver, mangalsutra, etc., of the people. Woh kya kehte hain ki aapke paas jo hai, aapse lekar ke jiske paas nahin hai usko de diya jaayega. Matlab jo vote jihad karega, unko diya jaayega (So what they say is that what you have will be taken away from you and given to those who don't have it. This means it will be given to those who wage vote jihad),' Modi said.
At the recent AICC Session in Ahmedabad, the Congress spoke extensively about caste, projecting itself as a trailblazer in implementing reservations. The party's resolution said, 'History bears witness to the fact that when the Supreme Court struck down reservations in 1951, it was the Congress Government under the leadership of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru that enacted the first amendment to the Constitution and added Article 15(4) in the Chapter on Fundamental Rights. Henceforth, the path for reservation based social justice was forever safeguarded.'
It also talked about the Congress-led government implementing the Mandal Commission report in 1993, and giving 27% reservation to OBCs.
The resolution added: 'The Congress Party remains steadfast in our commitment to enact a Central law for the SC/ST Sub Plan and guarantee budgetary allocations in accordance with their population… The Congress Party reaffirms that the fundamental guarantee given under Article 15 (5) (introduced by the Congress on 20th January, 2006) of reservation for OBCs, SCs and STs in private educational institutions must be implemented without delay.'
The other Opposition parties will also take note of the Modi government's move. Among them, the Trinamool Congress has been against the idea of a caste census, though others are in favour. Whether the Congress along with them has the firepower to convince the people that the BJP government's decision came under sustained pressure from them will be the next test.
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