BJP flag.
Credit: DH Photo
To counter the impact of the Bihar Caste Census released by Nitish Kumar's government in the upcoming state elections, the BJP’s OBC Morcha is planning on organising awareness campaigns in the poll bound states of Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Chhattisgarh. OBC Morcha chief K Laxman said that training camps have been held and material is now being readied for the campaigns.
Laxman questioned the intent of the Nitish Kumar government in releasing the Census. “What is the use of a Caste Census which does not have the details of socio-economic status? How will Nitish Kumar design welfare schemes if he does not have the details of the education or employment potential of a person,” Laxman said.
Laxman also questioned Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah for not divulging details of the Caste Census conducted in the state. “The CM said that differences in the party have led to the report not being out as yet. But now is the time for them to release it. Why have they not done so?” he asked. Laxman also pointed at a similar survey conducted by the BRS government in Telangana and demanded that it be released as well.
Laxman said that the OBC wing would work to counter the impact of the Census. “The OBC wing now has a crucial role to play, and our state teams have been alerted. We will counter the Opposition’s deception with the details of what the Modi government has done till now — the PM Vishwakarma scheme will benefit over 30 lakh artisan families, most of whom belong to the OBC Community. He made the National Backward Castes Commission a statutory body,” Laxman told DH.
He added that as part of the campaign, intellectual meets, choupals and OBC Sammelans are being planned across the poll bound states. Preparations for the 2024 Lok Sabha are also not too far behind, he said. “Last week in Lucknow, we held a training camp for social media volunteers who will work on the OBC campaigns and 500 people were given materials to disseminate,” he added.
Countering Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s attack on there being only nine secretaries in the Central government, Laxman said that the Modi government has 27 OBC ministers, 12 ST ministers and 11 women ministers. “The Congress has betrayed the OBC community from the time of Nehru up until now. In fact, on the floor of the Parliament, Rajiv Gandhi had said that reservation should be on the basis of Socio economic factors,” Laxman added.