Prayagraj, UP: Leader of opposition in Lok Sabha Shri Rahul Gandhi on August 24, 2024, reiterated the demand for a caste census, claiming that 90 per cent of India’s population is not a part of the system.

Addressing the ‘Samvidhan Samman Sammelan’ in Uttar Pradesh’s Prayagraj, the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha said, “Ninety per cent of people are sitting outside the system, they have skills and knowledge but they don’t have access (to the top). This is why, we have raised the demand for caste-based Institutional census.”

“BJP leaders are saying that an OBC section will be given after caste census...We want the list of different communities. For us, caste census is not just a census, it is a foundation for policy making,” Shri Rahul Gandhi said.

“Just conducting a caste census is not enough, it is also important to understand how the wealth is being distributed...It is also important to find out how much is the participation of OBCs, Dalits, workers in the bureaucracy, judiciary, media?” he added.

“The aim of the caste census is not to just know about the count of various castes but their participation in the country’s wealth as well. The vision is to know how the wealth is getting distributed in the country among different castes,” Shri Rahul Gandhi said.

“I have been in politics since 2004 and the BJP has been like a guru for me as it has taught me what not to do,” he added.

The Congress has been vocal about caste census, having promised it in its Lok Sabha election Manifesto. The Grand Old Party had promised to conduct a nationwide Socio-economic and Caste Census to enumerate the castes and sub-castes and their socio-economic conditions. The Congress had also promised to pass a constitutional amendment to raise the 50 per cent cap on reservations for SC, ST and OBC.