Day after PM Modi lauds caste census decision, Cong takes swipe at him with two videos
New Delhi, May 26 (PTI): A day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailed the decision to conduct a caste census, the Congress on Monday took a swipe and posted videos of him from the past two years criticising the opposition's party's demand for such an enumeration.
Prime Minister Modi asserted on Sunday that caste census is a step towards bringing those left behind into the mainstream of development, as he emphasised that his government does not believe in caste politics but in the empowerment of the marginalised.
He made the remarks at a conclave of NDA chief ministers and deputy chief ministers. Two resolutions -- one hailing the valour of the armed forces and PM Modi's brave leadership in the context of the recent military action and another praising the decision of caste enumeration in the next census- were passed at the conclave.
Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh shared two video clips of the prime minister in which he is heard criticising the opposition's pitch for a caste census.
"On April 30, 2025, in the period between the Pahalgam terror attacks and the launch of Operation Sindoor, the Modi government unexpectedly and suddenly announced a caste census. Yesterday, the PM expectedly took full credit for it in the NDA CMs meeting," Ramesh said.
"But just listen to what the PM had said - First on October 2, 2023, when the findings of the Bihar caste survey were released. Second on April 28, 2024, when asked about the INC's demands for a caste census," Ramesh said and tagged the two clips.
In the first clip, Modi is heard saying, "They (the opposition) used to divide the society on the basis of caste and continue to commit that sin even now". In the second, the PM, when asked about the Congress demand for a caste census, says it is part of the "urban naxal mindset".
In another post, Ramesh took a swipe at Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath with an old video of him talking about the opposition's caste census demand.
"The PM called caste census an urban naxal idea. What does the man who desperately wants to succeed him when Modi@75 happens think about the caste census? Just listen to Mr Ajay Singh Bisht. And recall his earlier rants against reservation for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and OBCs," Ramesh said.
In the video shared by Ramesh, the Uttar Pradesh chief minister is heard hitting out at the opposition, alleging that it is making an attempt to divide people on caste lines.
While there was no immediate reaction from the BJP, party chief JP Nadda had said after Sunday's NDA meeting that a caste census was always part of the ruling alliance's imagination, noting the Bihar government headed by JD(U) leader and Chief Minister Nitish Kumar was the first to do it.
The resolution has made it clear that the NDA does not believe in caste politics but acknowledges the need for a caste census to bring into the mainstream of development the deprived, exploited, Dalits and others left behind, he said, adding that it was the need of the society.
The Centre last month announced that caste enumeration will be part of the next population census, with the inclusion of caste details for the first time since independence.
Opposition parties, including the Congress, had been demanding a nationwide caste census, making it a major election issue. Some states like Bihar, Telangana and Karnataka have conducted such surveys.
पहलगाम आतंकी हमले और ऑपरेशन सिंदूर के लॉन्च के बीच के समय में ही, 30 अप्रैल 2025 को, मोदी सरकार ने अचानक और अप्रत्याशित रूप से जाति जनगणना की घोषणा कर दी। कल एनडीए शासित राज्यों के मुख्यमंत्रियों की बैठक में प्रधानमंत्री ने उम्मीद के मुताबिक इसका पूरा श्रेय खुद ले लिया।
— Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) May 26, 2025
लेकिन… pic.twitter.com/hJbFhvCp4b
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Palakkad: Hotel owners hold protest march against gas price hike
Palakkad (Kerala) (PTI): Hotel and restaurant owners on Saturday held a protest march in Palakkad against the recent nearly Rs 1,000 hike in commercial gas cylinder prices.
The protesters marched through the town holding placards and images of gas cylinders. They also carried two cylinders on a stretcher with a wreath placed on top, according to visuals aired on television channels.
The hotel and restaurant owners contended that it would be difficult for them to sustain their businesses in view of the high cost of commercial gas cylinders.
They said that many of them had been forced to shut their establishments earlier due to the scarcity of commercial gas cylinders, and that most had only recently reopened.
“But the sudden increase in commercial gas cylinder prices has affected our operations,” the protesters said.
Similar concerns were raised by restaurant owners and workers from other parts of the state in response to queries from reporters.
The Kerala Hotel and Restaurant Association had on Friday announced a statewide protest strike on May 6 against the Rs 993 hike in commercial LPG cylinder prices.
KHRA state president G Jayapal said that all hotels and restaurants across Kerala would remain shut on that day in protest against what he termed an “unfair” increase in LPG prices.
He added that over the past five months, the price of a single cylinder had increased by a total of Rs 1,498.
On May 6, establishments will remain closed, and protest marches and dharnas will be held in front of district headquarters and oil company offices, he said.
