"Shows that BJP has always been opposed to socio-economic surveys of castes": Congress' Pawan Khera lashes at BJP over no mentions of caste in upcoming Census survey

New Delhi [India], June 17 : Taking a jibe at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over the Census, Congress leader Pawan Khera on Tuesday questioned why there was no mention of caste in the survey further stating that the BJP had always been opposed to the socio-economic survey of different castes and that the intentions of BJP would always be suspected.
"So, the socio-economic survey is being done on every caste group. This is the real intent, which can be seen through this GO. In the Government of India notification of yesterday, where is the word 'caste'? Where have they written a socio-economic survey of caste groups? They haven't. This also shows that since the BJP has always been opposed to socio-economic surveys of different castes, we suspect their intentions always. These questions will be raised on the BJP because their intentions were always suspect," Khera told ANI.
Mocking BJP over no mentions of the word 'caste' in the Census, Khera said "They don't even dare to mention the word 'caste' in their notification for the Census and they are pointing fingers at a party which has not just done it very successfully in Telangana, which is also following it up and is now ensuring that the Telangana model is followed even in Karnataka," he said.
Applauding the Telangana government's model of Census, Khera stated that the same model was expected to be followed by the Government of India.
"Every single resident of Telangana was involved, and therefore, the report is quite accurate. Based on that report, the Government of Telangana has already taken appropriate steps in the direction of social justice and economic justice. That is a successful model, and we expect the government of India to emulate it," he added.
Meanwhile, BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla launched a scathing attack on Congress for accusing the party of spreading fake news and lies on the issue of the caste census and India's global diplomatic matters.
The BJP leader accused Congress of deliberately misleading the public over the government's stand on the caste census.
He said, "Now Congress is on another lie. They are saying that the central government is taking a U-turn on the caste census... Various government press releases say that the caste census will be done."
The statement came as political tensions remained high over the caste census demand, with the Congress accusing the BJP of avoiding concrete commitments. At the same time, the BJP maintained that the government has been transparent about its position.