Prayagraj: Pressing the demand for a nationwide " caste census ", Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi , on Saturday said 90% people of the country are sitting out of the system and the step would be necessary for them. Addressing the ‘Samvidhan Samman Sammelan’ here, Gandhi said, “90% people are sitting out of the system. They have skill, knowledge but no connections (with the system).
That is why we have raised the demand for a caste census.” “For the Congress, the caste census is the foundation of policy making ,” he said. The former Congress chief alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is trying to replicate the model of kings and emperors.
“You (Modi) consider yourself non-biological. You consider yourself connected with the god. Right after the (Lok Sabha) election, you had to bow down before the Constitution.
This was not done by us but by people,” he said. Gandhi said, “We are protecting the Constitution through caste census, because it was not made by 10% people who are today running the country, while 90% are kept out; but it was made by 100% and it is the poor, farmers, labourers, tribal, backward people etc and the common people who are protecting it.” India can never become a superpower unless the 90%, who are outside the system, are made part of it, he added.
“Mujhe political nuksan bhi hoga toh bhi mai yeh karunga, (I will do it even if I suffer political losses). I am saying so because I am not advocating for this for any political gain.” “And this strength, this power, is coming from within India, from the poor people of India and no one can stop it.
If someone thinks that caste census can be stopped, or the 50% barrier will continue, I am telling you that he is dreaming, this will definitely happen, it cannot be stopped because it’s an order of the masses and if the present Prime Minister will not obey, there will be another PM in the country who will make this happen,” said Gandhi. Advocating for the skilled manpower of the country, including cobblers, carpenters, mechanics etc, he said, “Why is there not a bank that helps them? We will make a specialised bank only for them.” They are skilled but there is no respect for the skilled in the country, he said.
Claiming that there is no representation of Dalits, OBCs, SCs and STs in corporate, judiciary, media, Bollywood and even in beauty pageant competitions, Rahul said, “I have seen the list of employees in 500 biggest corporates in India, you will not find even one Dalit, one tribal, one backward class person.” And I am not talking only about corporate India, you can look at judiciary, media, can you tell me the name of a Dalit in national media or an OBC anchor, he questioned. He added that he had made a list of Miss India winners and wanted to see that there could be at least one Dalit or a tribal woman but there is neither Dalit nor tribal nor OBC in the list.
Alleging that there is no respect for skilled persons like cobblers, farmers, carpenters, he said that one will watch dance, songs, cricket and Bollywood in the media but there will be no talk of farmers, labourers etc. “Have you ever seen the interview of a cobbler in the media? It is only on my channel and is not being shown on any other channel,” he said. “During my visit to Rae Bareli, I met a cobbler.
I saw that despite having unlimited skills, he is not getting the respect he deserves,” he added. Asking for a caste-based census, he said, “I am advocating for this census because it is the 21st century and we need data for framing the policies and this is just my first step as the second step would be to check out how wealth is being distributed in India. How much is in the hands of OBCs, how much is in the hands of Dalits, how much is in the hands of labourers.
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