PM Modi slams Cong stand on Bihar caste census

As the Congress is pressing for a nationwide caste-based survey with its “Jitni Abadi Utna Haq” chorus, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said that this “new thinking” of the grand old party will be a grave injustice to the entire southern region of the country which also stabs the minorities in the back.

After the Bihar government released caste census data on Monday, Congress leader and Lok Sabha MP Rahul Gandhi endorsed the slogan of “Jitni Abadi Utna Haq” saying that population-based rights was a pledge of the Congress. While addressing a rally in poll-bound Telangana’s Nizamabad, PM Modi said that the chorus itself raises questions about the basic policies of Congress.

“Congress has started speaking a new language due to its hunger for power. What are they saying these days? Jitni Abadi Utna Haq (population-based rights)…When you (Congress) say this, you are raising questions about your basic policies,” PM Modi said.

He said that when Congress bats for population-based rights, does it mean that the party is against minorities? “Congress should clarify whether they are against South India,” he added.

“I prove that their new thinking is a thinking that does grave injustice to South India. This new thinking is a thinking that also stabs the minorities in the back,” PM Modi said.

Observing that the government has taken control over the Hindu temples in Tamil Nadu, PM Modi asked whether the same would be done with the places of worship of minorities in the southern state.

“The government has the right over the temples in the South, especially in Tamil Nadu. The government has taken over…but they do not touch the places of worship of minorities, they do not take them under the control of the government. Now Congress says Jitni Abadi Utna Haq. If this is your mantra, then will your allies from the South take control of all the places of worship of minorities. (These people) will not do,” the Prime Minister added.

Earlier in the day, PM Modi, while addressing a rally in Chhattisgarh, said: “Mere Liye Gareeb Sabse Badi Abaadi Hai” (for me, the biggest population is of the poor). On Monday after the Bihar government released the data from its caste-based survey, Rahul Gandhi once again gave the call for population-based rights.

“The caste census of ­Bihar has revealed that OBC, SC, ST constitute 84 per cent there. Out of 90 secretaries of the Central Government, only 3 are OBC, who handle only 5 pc of India’s budget! Therefore, it is important to know the caste statistics of India. ‘Jitni Abadi Utna Haq’ – this is our pledge,” Rahul Gandhi posted on ‘X’ on Monday.

The Bihar government on Monday released caste census data, with the figures that have ramifications for the Lok Sabha polls next year, showing that Other Backward Caste (OBC) and Extremely Backward Class (EBC) together account for 63 per cent of the state’s population.