Anand Sharma opposes caste census call,Cong never endorsed it

Former union minister and a senior Congress leader Anand Sharma  has raised strong objections to the party’s Lok Sabha election campaign centered around the caste-based census, calling it a “departure from the historic position and also amounting to disrespecting the legacy of former Congress PMs Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi”. In a letter to party chief Mallikarjun Kharge,Sharma recalled Indira Gandhi's 1980 clarion call, "Na jaat par na paat par, mohar lagegi Haath par", to point out the historic stand of the Congress on caste. He also pointed out that in 1990, Rajiv Gandhi had opposed making "casteism" an electoral factor.Sharma’s objection to the Congress stand on caste census has caught the party off guard as the latter has been striving to make it a rallying point ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
The Congress has believed in an inclusive approach, which is non-discriminatory in formulating policies for equity and social justice for the poor and the underprivileged, added the former Union Minister.On Congress leader Anand Sharma's letter, Ravi Shankar Prasad says, "The truth is coming out that their leader is not on board."

On Congress leader Anand Sharma's letter, Ravi Shankar Prasad says, "The truth is coming out that their leader is not on board." pic.twitter.com/7fRBHz6hT1

— IANS (@ians_india) March 21, 2024

Caste census, one of the major demands of the Congress, has been carried out only in Congress-ruled Karnataka and Bihar, where the party held power in an alliance with the RJD. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has promised a nationwide caste census if the opposition's INDIA bloc forms government at the centre.