Ensuring Real and Inclusive Development of the Country
Chief Minister’s Principal Media Advisor Naresh Chauhan said here today that the entire credit for the Central Government’s decision to conduct a caste-based census goes to Opposition leader Rahul Gandhi, who fought a long battle and forced the Central Government to accept his demand. Chauhan stated that whether it is during foot marches or in the country’s Parliament, Rahul Gandhi always raises issues of public interest and stands firmly for the problems of every section of society.
Speaking to journalists here today, he said the Congress Party has successfully conveyed to the nation that it has been serious about this issue from the very beginning. He added that the Congress Party and its leader Rahul Gandhi fought a prolonged battle for 11 years over the caste-based census, but the BJP-led Central Government deliberately delayed the matter. Those in power even labeled advocates of the census as “urban Naxalites,” but today, the same people have been forced to accept the issue. He questioned BJP leaders, asking if the Congress Party was categorized as “urban Naxalism” for advocating a caste census, would those in power at the Centre now fall under the same category?
Naresh Chauhan said the Congress Party had no intention of gaining political mileage from the caste-based census. Instead, senior party leader Rahul Gandhi believed that the country should have data on all caste groups in the national census. A caste census will ensure the real and inclusive development of the country, empowering Dalits, backward classes, tribals, and the oppressed to achieve equality with other sections and integrate them into the mainstream of society.
He said the Congress Party wants to know why the Central Government took so long to act on this matter. “We want to know what the government’s roadmap is now, what the timeline will be, and what budgetary provisions will be made. The Central Government has no right to take credit for this decision merely as a political move ahead of Bihar elections or to grab headlines.”
Expressing grief over the terrorist incident in Pahalgam, Chauhan said it was a shameful and tragic event for the country. The entire nation is now watching what action Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his government will take against Pakistan. Senior Congress leader and Leader of the Opposition in Parliament, Rahul Gandhi, has also made his party’s stance clear—that there can be no compromise on the unity and integrity of the country.
