India News | AAP Supports Congress' Caste Census Demand, Accuses BJP-led Centre of Not Doing It Due to RSS 'mindset'

New Delhi, Apr 17 (PTI) The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Monday joined the opposition parties' call for a nationwide caste census and alleged that the BJP-led central government is running away from it due to the RSS' "mindset" against backwards and dalit communities.

At a press conference, AAP Rajya Sabha MP and spokesperson Sanjay Singh endorsed the Congress party's renewed demand for a caste census.

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"Caste census should be conducted. It's a demand from all opposition parties. In Bihar, (Chief Minister and JD-U leader) Nitish Kumar is demanding (it). In Tamil Nadu, (Chief Minister and DMK leader) M K Stalin is demanding (it),” Singh told reporters when asked for his party's stand on the Congress' demand for caste census.

The AAP leader alleged that the BJP-led Centre is running away from conducting a caste census in the country despite demands from the opposition parties as the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, the ideological fountainhead of the ruling party, does not have any respect for the backwards and dalit communities.

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"This is the party whose parent organisation, RSS, has not made its chief ever from the backwards and dalit communities in 97 years of its history. The RSS doesn't show respect to dalits and backwards.... How will they conduct caste census,” Singh alleged.

Hence, the BJP-led Centre is running away from conducting a caste census "due to their mindset", he charged.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi demanding an up-to-date caste census, saying meaningful social justice and empowerment programmes are incomplete in the absence of such data.

In the letter, he also pointed out that the regular decennial census was to be carried out in 2021 but it has not yet been conducted.

Supporting the Congress' demand for an up-to-date caste census in the country, Bihar Chief Minister and JD(U) leader Nitish Kumar said it would be beneficial for all sections of society.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said that the underprivileged need economic and political power and not empty words as he again called for removing the 50 per cent ceiling on quota and demanded reservations for dalits and tribals based on their population.

The BJP unit in Bihar had supported a resolution at an all-party meeting convened by Nitish Kumar and later a unanimous resolution was passed in the Bihar Assembly on caste census.

The BJP's central leadership is yet to respond to the demand for a socio-economic and caste census raised now by the Congress.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)