During a meeting of NDA Chief Ministers and Deputy Chief Ministers on Sunday, a resolution was adopted in favor of the government's move to introduce caste enumeration in the next national census.
The resolution condemned what it called the Opposition's "cheap politics" on the matter and targeted the Congress party in particular, even as it underlined the NDA government's initiative in the last 11 years to empower weaker sections.
The resolution appreciated Prime Minister Narendra Modi for carrying forward social justice and said that his name would be "written in golden letters" for achieving the dreams of social reformists such as Dr Ram Manohar Lohia, Jayprakash Narayan, and Karpoori Thakur.
Among the achievements mentioned were raising 15 crore individuals out of poverty and raising the dignity of those who were once discriminated against because of caste. The resolution, tabled by Haryana CM Nayab Singh Saini and seconded by Andhra Pradesh Deputy CM Pawan Kalyan, appreciated the Prime Minister for the caste census drive. Modi, speaking at the gathering, stated that the caste census would ensure justice to marginalized communities from every community.
Condemning the Opposition, the resolution expressed dismay at their politics, citing that having ruled the nation for decades, they did not carry out caste enumeration. The Congress was accused of weakening Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar by twice denying him the Bharat Ratna, stalling and resisting implementation of the Mandal Commission, resisting the OBC Commission, and backing reservations based on religion against the spirit of Ambedkar's constitution.
The order also mentioned that during the census of 2011, the Congress intentionally skipped scientific caste enumeration, and exercises thereafter outside the Census of India Act were incomplete and secretive. The Congress was charged with exploiting the issue of the caste census merely for political motives.
In a tweet on X (formerly Twitter), PM Modi wrote that the conference had wide-ranging discussions on a variety of topics, with states exchanging best practices in water conservation, redressal of grievances, education, empowerment of women, sports, and more.
BJP Chief J P Nadda reiterated the caste census has been the top priority of the NDA right from the beginning. He remembered how Bihar, led by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, had introduced a caste census resolution first. Nadda also drew attention to debates on anti-Maoist operations, with Chhattisgarh CM Vishnu Deo Sai showcasing the successful Bastar Model of governance and development, including the innovative Bastar Olympics. Chhattisgarh Home Minister Vijay Sharma spoke about the rehabilitation packages for Naxal-hit areas and Union Home Minister Amit Shah put forward the plan to end Naxalism by 2026.
Other presentations included Gujarat’s implementation of the Har Ghar Surya Yojana under CM Bhupendra Patel, Meghalaya CM Conrad Sangma’s ‘CM Connect’ initiative promoting responsive governance, UP CM Yogi Adityanath’s booklet on the success of Kumbh Mela, and Uttarakhand CM Pushkar Singh Dhami’s efforts on implementing the Uniform Civil Code.
In the meantime, Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, while addressing an event in Darbhanga, Bihar, recently informed that the government's announcement regarding the caste census was made in response to pressure from a "vast majority." He cited the Telangana model as the best way of conducting the caste census and blamed the Modi government as well as the Bihar government for not implementing quota laws in private institutions.
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