Telangana Assembly Elections 2023: Congress MP from Wayanad Rahul Gandhi has been campaigning in Telangana for the upcoming assembly polls to be held on 30 November. During an election rally Gandhi promised conducting a caste census if Congress is voted to power.
Addressing corner meetings on the way from Bhupalpally to Peddapalli during the Congress’ ongoing ‘Vijayabheri’ Yatra in the state, Rahul Gandhi accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao of not speaking on the issue.
Rahul Gandhi said the biggest issue in the country is with regard to caste census and termed it an “X-ray” that will throw light on the condition of Dalits, tribals and OBCs, and added it will also determine how the country’s funds are being distributed.
He asked the people to question Modi and KCR as to when they will conduct the caste census, and said if the Congress is voted to power in Telangana then the first work his party’s government will do is to take up “X-ray” in the state.
He said Congress-ruled states-Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and Karnataka- have been told to conduct caste census.
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“To fulfill the dreams of Telangana, caste census has to be conducted. I promise you, the Congress party will get the caste census done in Telangana,” Rahul Gandhi said.
The former Congress president said he had raised the issue of caste census in Parliament.
He said that only 90 top officers/ bureaucrats run the country and only three of them belong to the OBC (Other Backward Classes) category. “These (OBC) officers control just five per cent of the budget,” he claimed. “My question is whether the OBCs population in the country is just five per cent,” he asked.
He further said today loans worth billions of rupees of industrialists have been waived off. “Adani ji takes loans and his loans get waived off. Without asking, the loan is waived off. But bank loans of farmers, labourers, women and youth is never waived off. GST is taken from the pockets of shopkeepers and it goes into the pockets of Adani,” he alleged.
“We don’t want such an India. That’s why the first step is an “X-ray” of the country–the caste census. And a new chapter will be written in India’s progress,” he said.
According to him, “X-ray” will also ascertain how much of Telangana‘s money the “Chief Minister’s family “looted”.
The Congress will implement its six guarantees in Telangana, he said, adding they have not come here with false promises and accused KCR of not fulfilling his electoral promises.
Rahul Gandhi said the upcoming electoral battle is between Dorala (feudal lords) Telangana and Prajala (people’s) Telangana and said he felt that KCR is going to lose the elections.
The BJP and the Telangana Chief Minister have joined hands, and the BRS and BJP are working together, he said and cited BRS’ support to the BJP in passing bills in Parliament.
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Updated: 19 Oct 2023, 05:11 PM IST