Amit Shah said BJP was not opposed to idea of a caste census..
Congress leaders, including AICC president mallikarjun Kharge, mp Rahul gandhi and general secretary priyanka gandhi Vadra, have demanded to know why the BJP-led government at the Centre appears opposed to a caste census. The home minister told reporters after releasing BJP's manifesto for the assembly elections in chhattisgarh that the party would take “the appropriate” decision on a caste census after “consulting everyone”.
On Congress' 17 guarantees, including a caste census, he said that “contesting polls on this basis is not right”. “We are a national party, and we don't do politics of votes on this issue,” Shah said. Kharge said at a public meeting recently that Congress-governed karnataka had already initiated the process for a caste census and would release its report soon. He promised a similar exercise in chhattisgarh if the party retains the reins of government in the two-phase election starting november 7.