“Aage dekha jayega (We will see),” Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav said when he asked about INDIA’s bloc’s future at a time when a rift persists between his party and the Congress. Both the political parties are part of the INDIA alliance of 26 parties.
Akhilesh Yadav’s statement came after he took a dig at the Congress on Monday and questioned the timing of their demand for a caste census in India. He said the Congress did not conduct caste census after Independence, not even after all parties in the Lok Sabha were demanding a caste census.
“Why do they (Congress) want to do so today?,” Akhilesh Yadav asked, saying that this is because the party knows that their traditional vote bank is not with them.
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While speaking in Madhya Pradesh’s Satna, the SP chief also taunted Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over his “X-ray” remark over the caste census demand. Gandhi had said in a rally that the caste census would be like an “X-ray” that would give details of various communities in the country.
In reaction to this, Akhilesh Yadav sarcastically asked “why X-ray when there is availability of new technology like MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) and CT (computed tomography) scan”.
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“The biggest miracle is the Congress is also talking about caste census. Those who are talking about X-rays are the same people who stopped the caste census after Independence,” Yadav said.
“The castes can be counted in three months. All the data is available. All are having Aadhaar cards. Why will it take time,” he was quoted by news agency PTI as saying.
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Akhilesh Yadav’s comments have further widened the rift within the Opposition’s INDIA alliance. Both the SP and the Congress are part of the bloc which plans to contest 2024 Lok Sabha polls together to take on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
The SP and the Congress are contesting the Madhya Pradesh Election 2023 separately. Madhya Pradesh is set to undergo polls on November 17 and the counting of votes will take place on December 3. Voters will choose legislators from 230 Assembly constituencies.
(With inputs from agencies)
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Updated: 14 Nov 2023, 03:12 PM IST