Highlights of the Special Press Briefing by Shri Rahul Gandhi, Leader of Opposition at AICC office, 24 Akbar Road, on April 30, 2025.

Shri Rahul Gandhi said-We had said in the parliament that we will get the caste census done and we had also said that the 50 percent cap, the artificial wall that has been put up, we will break that barrier... we have been fighting for Caste census now for some time. Modi Government has opposed for some reason, we don’t understand what that reason was, suddenly 11 years later... Earlier Narendra Modi Ji used to say that there are only 4 castes. Now, they have suddenly decided to do it, we welcome that. We are happy that they have approved the caste census.

We support it, fully. But what we want is the time-line. We would like to know by when it will be done and this is just the first step. Telangana is a model state for the caste census. There are two caste censuses in front of us - one is Telangana, the other is Bihar. There are completely different caste censuses. The Telangana caste census - the questions have been developed by a process of consultation… not a closed process, but open process… by asking the stakeholders what are the type of questions they want; and it has been a very detailed, very granular exercise. We would like the national census to follow some of the ideas of the Telangana census and we are more than happy to help the government develop the national census on similar lines.

We have had two other issues that we have discussed, which are also central… one is the 50 per cent cap on reservations. Now, this is becoming an impediment to development, to progress of our country and to the progress of Backward castes, Dalits and Adivasis and we want this 50 per cent barrier to be eliminated and broken… we have stated that.

We have achieved… we have put enough pressure on the government to get the caste census done. We want a date by when it’s done. We are going to put pressure on the government to make sure that 50 per cent cap is destroyed. And after that, there is a third thing… which is the Article 15(5), which pertains to reservation in private education institutions. It is already a law. We want that law to be implemented as soon as possible. So, that is broadly the structure.

We see the caste census as a new paradigm of development and we want to go beyond the caste census. We want to understand what is the participation of 90 per cent of our population in the power structure of our country, where are they participating effectively and where are they not participating. And we want to give them participation and access to power.

So, we are absolutely convinced in the Congress Party that the caste census is a first step of a completely new development paradigm in the country and we are going to push this paradigm through one way or the other. It doesn’t matter what the BJP thinks. We have shown that we can pressure the BJP into doing the caste census. We are going to show you that we are going to pressure the BJP into implementing Article 15(5) and also removing the 50 per cent cap.

I think every Congress member, every Congress worker… every single person who has fought for the caste census… and there are millions of people, activists from the Backward communities, Dalits, Adivasis. I am very proud of what you have done. This would not be possible without your efforts, without the hard work that you have done. It has been a sustained campaign that we have run and I am very proud of every single person, who has helped us in this campaign.

On a question that do you think this decision has been taken in light of the upcoming Bihar polls, Shri Rahul Gandhi said- No, I don’t think so. I don’t think that’s why this decision has been taken in a hurry. I don’t need to comment on whether they took it, when they took it, how they took it. Now, they have taken it… we are happy they have taken it. Now, this needs to be taken forward.

On a question that the Prime Minister used to say repeatedly that there are only four castes in the country, now suddenly this decision has been taken, do you think that this has happened due to the pressure of the opposition and you? Shri Rahul Gandhi said that it is not just us who have put pressure... we have run this campaign in an organized manner, in a very deep way... we have run a campaign at the grassroots level and we have been running this campaign for months and this campaign has had an impact, there has been an effect and that is why they have taken this decision. But caste census... what I told you is a way to open the door, after that the work of real development will start. Once we get the information, then we will be able to take action on the basis of that information. I will give you a few examples. What granularity and type of information is coming from the caste census of Telangana. The corporate structure in Telangana... CEOs, management team, senior management, ownership structure... you will not find a single Dalit, a tribal, a person from backward class in it. I am not saying that you will not find even one, I am not saying that you will not find even one percent... they are not there at all...90 percent of India is not represented there – first point.

Second - gig workers, for whom we are making laws in Telangana and now in Karnataka. If you look at the list of gig workers, which I call modern slavery... you will find only OBCs, Dalits and tribals in it. So, these two streams are being formed. One stream - the stream of wages, the stream of poverty, the stream of unemployment... in which there are Dalits, tribals, backward classes and the second stream - in which a small elite is controlling the entire system... Adani ji, Ambani ji are sitting on top of it. So, this caste sense is the foundation of changing this thing, it is the first step.

On announcement of the caste census to distract from the Pahalgam attack.

Shri Rahul Gandhi said that look, you are journalists... this is your job. Your job is to speculate, my job is not to speculate. I work on facts. So, you speculate, I will not speculate on this. I do not need to speculate at all. Why did they take it, why did they not take it... I have no interest in that... they took it and this is a big step. I just want to understand when this census will be conducted and how will it be conducted, what questions will be there in it. Because you can say that we have conducted the census and then you have not asked relevant questions, then it has no meaning. So, in Telangana, we have designed it very deeply... by going to the public, by consulting... by consulting with lakhs of people.

On Telangana Model

In response to another question asked about the Telangana model, Shri Rahul Gandhi said that look, there are two-three principles in the Telangana model. The first principal is we want a people’s census. We do not want a bureaucrats’ census. We have set up an expert group, which is now going to study all the data and is going to present to the Government of Telangana a vision based on caste census. So that is the second step. And third step - as you are already aware, Telangana has demolished the wall of 50 per cent and also implemented the Article 15(5).

On Timeline

To another question that how much time do you think the government can take, Shri Rahul Gandhi said that I think...my immediate suspicion is that this is the strategy of the Women’s Bill...the timeline is the same but I hope that better sense prevails.

On Pahalgam Attack

I am saying that 28 people have been killed in cold blood. It is pretty clear who is responsible for this. The people who are responsible for this must pay a price. The Prime Minister has to take action and the action has to be clear and it has to be strong without any confusion. The Prime Minister must not dilly-dally, must not waste time, must make it very clear that India is not going to tolerate this type of nonsense. So, he needs to act. That’s what I am saying. He can act in whatever time frame he thinks necessary, but he has to act soon. He should not be in a confused state.