HYDERABAD: Union Minister Kishan Reddy has accused the Congress of hypocrisy over its recent celebration of the Centre’s decision to conduct a nationwide caste census. Addressing the media at the BJP office in Nampally, Reddy said that the Congress has a long history of opposing caste-based enumeration.
He recalled that the party even opposed Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe candidates contesting for the post of President and did little to address SC categorisation during its decades in power.
Calling the Modi government’s decision on caste census “historic,” Reddy criticised the Congress for staging what he described as political theatrics around the announcement.
“The Congress, which now praises caste census, in reality, plotted against BC reservations in Telangana and included Muslims in the BC list without constitutional basis,” he alleged.
Reddy clarified that the BJP-led NDA government arrived at this decision after proper discussion in the Union Cabinet, unlike Congress’s moves, which he claimed were driven by electoral motives.
Taking a swipe at Rahul Gandhi, he said, “Rahul is trying to claim credit for a decision taken entirely by the Centre. This is not his success story.”
He added that all BJP decisions are taken in the national interest, not for political expediency. “In our upcoming caste census, no religious group will be added to the BC category in violation of the Constitution,” he asserted.
Reddy also claimed that even within Congress, there is no consensus on the caste census, and its policies are aimed at short-term electoral benefits, with Telangana and Karnataka serving as clear examples.