Rajnath Singh Criticizes Congress over Caste Census Strategy

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh criticizes Congress and Rahul Gandhi for their caste census proposal, accusing them of manipulating voters. He challenges Congress to present a plan for reservation benefits distribution. Singh also accuses Congress of corruption and opportunistic politics ahead of Jharkhand elections.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh launched a scathing attack on the Congress party and its leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday, criticizing their proposal to conduct a caste census as a mere ploy to sway voters. Addressing a rally in Mahagama, Jharkhand, Singh challenged the Congress to produce a detailed plan for distributing reservation benefits across the country's diverse castes and sub-castes.

Drawing on data from a 2011 socio-economic caste census, Singh highlighted the complexity of the issue, pointing to the existence of approximately 46 lakh castes, sub-castes, and gotras, including 1,200 Scheduled Castes, over 750 Scheduled Tribes, and about 2,500 Other Backward Classes. Singh demanded a clear blueprint from Congress for managing such quotas, underscoring his skepticism of their intentions.

Singh accused the Congress of prioritizing power over public service, pointing to broken alliances with regional parties like RJD, JKNC, and soon the DMK. He also accused the JMM-Congress-RJD coalition in Jharkhand of corruption, contrasting this with the BJP's clean governance record. Singh remained confident of the BJP's success in Jharkhand elections, predicting a two-thirds majority.

(With inputs from agencies.)