New Delhi: Amid the growing heat of caste politics in poll-bound Madhya Pradesh, Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Thursday said the Modi-led central government was running away from the ‘caste census’. The Congress leader was addressing a public meeting in Mandla district ahead of the November 17 assembly polls in Madhya Pradesh. Priyanka Gandhi said the Congress has demanded caste census to provide justice to the people from backward and poor communities. Invoking former prime minister and her grandmother Indira Gandhi, the Congress leader said she somewhat resembles her and therefore, she has to be more “responsible for the people, especially the tribal population”.
She hit out at Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan over distributing slippers and umbrellas to the tribal people ahead of the Assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh. She said, “Can you imagine a person who was the CM of Madhya Pradesh for more than 18 years, distributing slippers and umbrellas to the tribal people when the elections are very close. What has he been doing for the last 18 years?” Pointing to corruption in Madhya Pradesh, the Congress leader said that in the last 225 weeks of the BJP, more than 250 scams were broken out.
Priyanka Gandhi also mentioned about the atrocities on tribals and women, saying 1.5 lakh women are missing in Madhya Pradesh, whereas 17 women are being raped per day in the state. She announced that if the Congress forms the government in Madhya Pradesh, it would give Rs 4000 per quintal for Tendu Patta like in Chhattisgarh. “I would appeal to all of you to change the corrupt BJP government and bring the Congress into power, which works for the poor people,” she added.
The Congress General Secretary said, “Recently, Bihar has conducted a caste census and it was revealed that 84 per cent of the people belong to OBC (Other Backward Class), SC (Scheduled Caste), and ST (Schedule Tribe) categories in the state. But their numbers in jobs are very low. To know their exact numbers and to do justice with them, a caste census should be conducted in the country,” she said.
The leader announced a slew of promises, including implementation of the Old Pension Scheme (OPS), gas cylinder for Rs 500, monthly dole of Rs 1,500 to women, loan waiver scheme, free 100 units of power per connection, 200 units at half price and free electricity to farmers for running up to 5 HP motors for agriculture. Gandhi also declared that her party, if voted to power in MP, will provide not only free education to students from Std I to Std XII, but also give Rs 500 per month to students from Std I to Std VIII, Rs 1,000 a month to those in Std IX and Std X and 1,500 for Std XI and Std XII.
Gandhi said the Congress would implement a host of promises after “coming to power in MP”. She also listed out some of them: implementation of OPS, gas cylinder for Rs 500, monthly dole of Rs 1,500 to women, loan waiver scheme, free 100 units of power per connection and 200 units at half price, free electricity to farmers for running up to 5 HP motors for agriculture, and a caste census.
During its 18 years of rule in the state, Gandhi said, the BJP has done nothing for the people. It remembers them only during elections by announcing a slew of schemes for them, she said. The Congress leader alleged that “250 scams, including Vyapam, mid-day meal, and scholarship” took place in the state which has been governed by the BJP for nearly 225 months. She added, “The BJP is running away from the caste census which shows they do not want to give rights to the people of Backward and ST/SC people. Whereas, the Congress is demanding the caste census to provide justice for the people.”.
(Inputs from Agencies)
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