Oppn dividing India along caste lines, says PM Modi as Bihar releases caste survey report

PM Modi on Monday said that the Opposition had committed the “sin” of playing with the emotions of the poor, and in the past six decades, had divided the country along caste lines, hours after the Bihar government released its caste survey findings.

The BJP had earlier said that intricacies of caste equations across states — with one caste being identified as general in one state and OBC in another — had stopped it from carrying out a census at the national level.

At a function in Madhya Pradesh’s Gwalior where he inaugurated development projects worth Rs 19,000 crore, Modi said that in the past six decades, the Opposition had been an “enemy of development”, but in the past years of BJP’s rule, there had been significant development in the country.

“These are projects of more than Rs 19,000 crore which have been announced in one day; this is a result of our double-engine government. The Opposition, however, has been playing with the emotions of the poor and dividing society on caste lines. They are committing this sin even now,” Modi said.

“When the entire world is praising the country and sees their future in India, there are those who indulge in politics and are unable to see anything except their chair...they do not like India being praised the world over. These anti-development people are trying to prove that nothing has happened in the nation and they have pain in their stomach (over India's praise),” he said.

Party leader from Bihar and Union minister Giriraj Singh said the Bihar caste survey would spread misunderstanding among the poor, and called the report an “eyewash”.

“The Caste Census will do nothing more than spreading ‘bhram’ (misunderstanding) among the poor and public of the state. They should have given a report card that Nitish Kumar ruled the state for 18 years and Lalu Yadav ruled the state for 15 years but did not develop the state. The report card of Caste Census is just an eye wash,” Singh said.

Meanwhile, former Bihar deputy CM and BJP Rajya Sabha MP Sushil Modi said that the decision to have a caste survey was taken when the BJP was part of the Bihar government.

“Nitish Kumar is now trying to take credit for the report, but we took the decision together. Why was caste survey not conducted when the RJD was in power for 15 years? A detailed report of the survey conducted on 27 points should be released; the report of the Most Backward Class Commission has been conveniently kept suppressed till now. Nitish Kumar and Tejaswi Yadav should release it,” Modi said.