'Someone who doesn't know his own caste, has taken upon himself to conduct a caste census': Sanjay Jha on Rahul Gandhi

Sanjay Jha

Amid Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's demand for a country-wide caste census, JD(U) leader Sanjay Kumar Jha on Wednesday derided the Congress scion saying that Rahul, who doesn't know his own caste, has taken the responsibility to conduct a nation-wide caste census.

Speaking at News 18's Rising Bharat Summit, the JD(U) leader said that the demand for caste census should be based on a holistic reading of the prevailing social realities, and not be restricted to a mere socio-demographic exercise.

The Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha on multiple occasions reasoned that: “Ninety per cent of people are sitting outside the system, they have skills and knowledge but they don’t have access (to the top). This is why, we have raised the demand for caste-based Institutional census. BJP leaders are saying that an OBC section will be given after caste census...We want the list of different communities. For us, caste census is not just a census, it is a foundation for policy making."

The aim of the caste census is not to just know about the count of various castes but their participation in the country’s wealth as well. The vision is to know how the wealth is getting distributed in the country among different castes, Rahul has often mentioned during his speeches.