‘You did not listen then; follow Telangana's model’: Mallikarjun Kharge takes a dig at Modi over caste census

Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge took a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the Centre's decision to conduct a caste census on Tuesday. The leader of opposition in Rajya Sabha said the Union government must take inspiration from the Telangana government's model to conduct the crucial census. 

In a two-page letter to Modi, Kharge charged when the Congress and opposition raised the legitimate demand for a caste census, they were attacked by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party. "Unfortunately, your party leaders and yourself went on to attack the INC and its leadership for raising this legitimate demand which you today acknowledge is in the interests of deeper social justice and empowerment," Kharge said.

Making three suggestions for the caste census, Kharge said the design of the census questionnaire is crucial. "The Union home ministry must draw upon the Telangana model—both the methodology adopted for finalizing the questionnaire, as well the final set of questions asked," Kharge said.

The Congress demanded that steps must be taken to amend the Constitution and remove the 50 per cent cap on reservations for backward communities. "Whatever the results of the caste census will be, it is abundantly clear that the arbitrarily imposed 50 pc ceiling on reservations for scheduled castes, scheduled tribes and OBCs must be removed by a Constitutional amendment," Kharge urged. He also demanded the Centre to implement Article 15(5) of the Constitution which provides reservation for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and OBCs in private educational institutions. 

The Congress leader said the caste census should not be considered divisive. He added a comprehensive caste census was necessary and urged the Centre to conduct an all-party meeting regarding the census.