BJP Has Finally Gained Enlightenment: Sharmila

Andhra Pradesh Congress President Y. S. Sharmila stated that there has been a shift in the Bharatiya Janata Party-led central government’s stance on the crucial issue of nationwide caste census. She attributed this change entirely to the persistent pressure and struggle led by the Indian National Congress and Rahul Gandhi. “Even if belatedly, the BJP has finally gained enlightenment on this matter,” said Y. S. Sharmila, welcoming the Centre’s decision. She asserted that the full credit for this development goes to Rahul Gandhi.

Y. S. Sharmila reminded that the Congress party has been demanding the implementation of a caste census from the very beginning with the objective of establishing social justice. She noted that Rahul Gandhi had also suggested increasing the reservation quotas if required, based on the data collected through such a census. She explained that the caste enumeration should ideally take place every ten years along with the national census—a practice initiated in 1951 and last conducted in 2011. She alleged that the BJP government had neglected this obligation during the 2021 census.

According to Y. S. Sharmila, it was only due to continuous pressure from the Congress party that the central government was now compelled to take steps toward conducting a caste census. She alleged that undertaking such a census goes against the BJP's core ideological principles. She criticized the BJP for allegedly aiming to divide people through religion-based enumeration rather than caste-based data, which she claimed would disrupt the BJP’s religious demographic politics.

She pointed out that growing political pressure has mounted on the BJP, particularly as states like Telangana and Karnataka move forward with their own caste enumeration initiatives and the demand for such a process increases across the country. She suggested that this mounting pressure is the reason behind the BJP’s recent decision.

In light of these developments, Y. S. Sharmila demanded that the central government immediately announce a time-bound action plan for the caste census. She further emphasized the need for a nationwide discussion on the extent of reservation quotas. She urged the government to clearly inform the public about the methodology and format in which the caste census would be conducted.