Rahul Gandhi Highlights Dalit Exclusion during Bihar Visit, Criticizes BJP’s ‘Fake’ Caste Census Approach

Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, stirred political controversy during his visit to Bihar on Friday by challenging the credibility of the state’s caste census. Speaking at the Nyay Ka Adhikar program in Rajgir, Gandhi asserted that the Modi government would never conduct a genuine caste-based census, warning that such an action would endanger the ruling party’s political future. He drew a distinction between two models of caste census: the “BJP model” and the “Telangana model”. 

“My goal is caste census. I told Prime Minister Modi in the Lok Sabha that the caste census will happen. He has a habit of surrendering. Donald Trump has said 11 times that he has made Prime Minister Modi surrender. Modi cannot say that Trump is lying. They will never conduct a real caste census because the day they do, their politics will end,” Gandhi said in Rajgir.

Highlighting social inequities, he said, “Ninety percent of Dalits say there are no brothers in India. There are 500 companies where you cannot name a single Dalit or Adivasi CEO or anyone in the management team.”

He also criticized the lack of Dalit representation in various sectors, stating, “Earlier, there were government hospitals, now private hospitals where people go for treatment. Look at the names of doctors there and show me any Dalit or backward class names. In education and universities, the land may be yours, but are there any Dalits among the owners? This reflects the state of our judiciary and bureaucracy.”

Gandhi further pointed out the socio-economic divide, saying, “Take out the list of laborers or Uber drivers, you will only find Dalits and OBCs there. Two Indias are being created—where 50 percent exists but Dalits make up 90 percent of the population, yet their contribution is only 5 percent.” He emphasized his intent by stating, “When I speak, I want to find out how much each has, and I am not saying anything else.”

On ideological lines, Rahul Gandhi remarked, “On one side is the thinking of Gandhi Ji, and on the other side is the thinking of Savarkar and Godse. This battle is not of today; it is thousands of years old. The Constitution’s principles are derived from the thoughts of Buddha. This is the ideology the RSS wants to destroy. Without the people of Bihar, the Constitution cannot be saved. The Constitution does not belong to BJP or Congress; it is a model of a modern form of thinking thousands of years old.”