Why is the caste census announcement a moral victory for Rahul Gandhi?

New Delhi: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led central government's announcement to conduct a caste-based census is a moral victory for former Congress president Rahul Gandhi.

He had faced strong criticism from Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other BJP leaders for "trying to divide the country" by demanding the caste enumeration.

In an exclusive interview with News18 Network in the midst of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Modi spoke at length about Congress’s manifesto, which includes the promise of a caste census.

He described the demand as a threat to the right to personal property and an echo of the Maoist ideology and the Urban Naxal thought process.

The Prime Minister further stated that the Congress was planning to conduct surveys to redistribute wealth, insisting that it amounted to raiding every household.

Conducting a caste-based census was a key component of the Congress manifesto for last year's national elections.

The grand old party had also promised to pass a constitutional amendment to raise the 50 per cent cap on reservations for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes (OBCs).

Despite strong criticism from the BJP and other NDA allies, as well as from within his own party, Rahul Gandhi kept a sustained focus on the caste census, and maintained that it is important to find out how many Dalits, adivasis, and poor general castes are there and what is their participation in various sectors, including bureaucracy, judiciary and media.

But Modi had labelled it an entirely Urban Naxal thought. The term 'Urban Naxal' is often used by the BJP for those criticising the NDA government and the alleged Maoist sympathisers living in cities.

Modi had then said that the suggestion of conducting surveys was an intrusion into people’s personal lives. "If any woman has hidden gold in utensils, even finding that and then redistributing it reflects the Maoist influence in Congress policies," he told the channel.

But now his own party leaders are jostling to specify the benefits of such a move.

Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath had once termed it divisive but has now hailed the announcement as a decisive initiative.

Extending his support to the Union Cabinet decision approving caste enumeration in the forthcoming census, he said the move will transform social justice and data-based good governance into reality.

In a post on X, Adityanath said the unprecedented decision was in the overall interest of 140 crore people of the country.

This is a decisive initiative towards giving the deprived, backward and neglected classes their proper recognition and fair participation in government schemes, the UP chief minister added.

This is a significant change in his stance.

Earlier, in an exclusive interview with Network18 Group Editor-in-Chief Rahul Joshi at the Maha Kumbh 2025 in Prayagraj in January this year, Adityanath had warned the “followers of Sanatan Dharma" to be cautious of those trying to divide the people. “Dividing the society for your political interest, or in the name of caste, region, or language is nothing less than treason," he had then said.

While all BJP leaders have been critical of Rahul Gandhi for demanding the caste census, it was Union Home Minister Amit Shah who had adopted a cautious approach on the issue.

He maintained that the BJP was never opposed to the idea of a caste census, but it does not play politics of votes on the issue, and he insisted that such decisions have to be made after careful thought and at an appropriate time.

Reacting to his government's move, Shah said the historic move was aimed at empowering economically and socially backward communities, and also promoting inclusion.

Slogans such as "Ek hain to safe hain (We [Hindus] are safe if we are united)" by the Prime Minister and the Uttar Pradesh chief minister's "Batenge to Katenge (We [Hindus] will be slaughtered if divided)" were the BJP's counter-narrative to the Congress' caste-census pitch.

Rahul Gandhi had been relentless regarding his demand, calling it a foundation for policy making. He had maintained that the aim of the caste census is not just to know about the count of various communities, but also to see how the wealth is distributed in the country among them.

Though headlines in most of the national news organisations called it Modi's masterstroke, disarming of Rahul Gandhi's OBC agenda and stealing of Congress' caste census thunder, etc., etc., the fact remains that the government gave in to the pressure maintained by the Leader of the Opposition over the past few years.