Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday promised a nation-wide caste census if the party comes to power and said he wants to ensure justice to each and every tribals in the country.
Speaking in tribal-dominated Nandurbar district of Maharashtra as part of his Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, Gandhi also promised to conduct an economic and financial survey to analyse the actual development of the tribal areas. “Such a survey will act as an X-ray to detect the problems of the tribal communities,” he said.
Gandhi said even though the tribals account for around eight per cent of the population, their representation in different sectors was not in par with their population.
He alleged that the Narendra Modi government had waived off the debts worth Rs 16 lakh crore of 24 industrial families in the country. This amount is equivalent to 24 years’ budget of MNREGA, he claimed.
Slamming the BJP for referring to tribal communities as 'vanavasis', the Congress leader said his party calls them ‘adivasis’ as they are the original inhabitants and have the first right to water, land and forest.
The BJP terms tribals as ‘vanavasis’, but takes away their lands for the party's "industrialist friends", he alleged.
Gandhi further accused the Modi government of diluting various laws like the Forest Rights Act and Land Acquisition Act, and said the Congress will rectify the law if voted to power.
He also promised that districts with more than 50 per cent tribal population will be included in the 6th schedule which provides for the administration of such areas as autonomous entities.
Nandurbar was a Congress bastion, but the BJP and the RSS have managed to make inroads in the district since 2014.
