Former Congress president and Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi’s visit to Bihar on January 18 was perceived as a morale booster for the gasping grand old party.
It was widely expected that Rahul’s visit would infuse a new lease of life into the moribund Congress which has been riding piggyback on the RJD since it was ousted from power in March 1990.
However, Rahul has done irreparable damage to his own party by terming the caste survey carried out in Bihar as “fake”, that too in a year where Assembly elections are slated in the caste-ridden State in October and November 2025.
CAST(E)ING ASPERSIONS
At a function in Patna, the former Congress president said he favoured a nationwide caste census, “but it should not be a fake one… intended to befool people… as has happened in Bihar.”
By terming the caste census, an exercise carried out by the Grand Alliance Government in Bihar, in which the Congress was also an alliance partner, and, in the ministry, Rahul has caused huge embarrassment to not only the Congress but also its ally, the RJD.
After all, it was former Deputy Chief Minister and RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav who had been shouting from the rooftop that caste census was one of the major achievements of the 17-month-long Grand Alliance Government. Notably, the report faced legal hurdles and was stayed by the court.
CASTE CENSUS
In the post-Mandal era, this was for the first time that any State Government carried out such a massive exercise. The caste survey was notified on June 6, 2022. However, the data collection started on January 7, 2023, in two phases – house listing and caste & economic enumeration. The survey report was released on October 2, 2023.
As per the caste census report, Bihar’s backward class constitute 27.12 per cent, extremely backward classes (EBCs) 36.01 per cent, Scheduled Castes (19.65 %), Scheduled Tribes (1.68 %) and upper caste (general category) 15.52 per cent.
Given this backdrop where the backwards, SCs and STs together constitute nearly 84 per cent of the population, calling the survey “fake”, is as big a blunder as Rahul did with the Ordinance issue in 2013 and tore a piece of paper at a press meeting saying, “such Ordinance should be torn”.
Bihar is one State where people are caste conscious and ever since the Mandal Commission report came into being, there has been more awareness among the deprived sections who favour “jiski jitni aabadi, uski utni hissedari” (participation as per the population).
DAMAGE CONTROL
Aware that Rahul’s childish act of describing a government survey as “fake” has done immense damage, the Congress party leaders are rubbing shoulders to defend their indefensible leader.
“Actually, what Rahul Gandhi said was that the purpose of conducting caste census has been defeated in Bihar after it got struck down by the court,” said former Bihar Congress president Kaukab Kadri on Monday.
“Rahul ji actually wanted to say that had CM Nitish been serious about implementing caste census, he should have withdrawn the revised petition from the court, brought in a fresh legislation and then should have asked his friendly Central Government to get it included in the Ninth Schedule so that the new law is protected from the judicial intervention,” added Kadri, one of the youngest former chief of Bihar Congress.
The ruling JD (U) too has hit out at Rahul for terming the caste census as ‘fake’. “Without showing any evidence, the Congress scion has termed the caste census as ‘fake’. This shows Rahul’s talent for proving himself ridiculous. But then, why should we react to the person who cannot even differentiate between an Indian State and an Indian Government (in reference to Rahul’s recent remark to fight against the RSS, BJP and the Indian State),” remarked Bihar’s Parliamentary Affairs Minister Vijay Choudhary.
Shorn with issues in an election year, Rahul has given his opponents a stick to beat him.
