New Delhi: Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi will flag off the ‘Save Constitution’ drive in poll-bound Maharashtra’s Nagpur on November 6 where he will also push for the demand of OBC census to corner BJP.
Nagpur assumes significance as it houses the headquarters of RSS, the ideological mentor of BJP and the architect of the Constitution Dr B R Ambedkar who converted to Buddhism in 1956.
Gandhi has been vouching for the drive alongside the demand for an OBC caste census at several rallies in various cities over the past month.
The Congress has questioned the central government's plan to conduct a census in 2025 with no clarity on the caste factor saying it would be a meaningless exercise.
To set an example, the Congress-led government in Telangana headed by Chief Minister Revanth Reddy is now ready to conduct a detailed caste census on the directions of Gandhi. Keeping that in mind, a day before the Nagpur conclave Gandhi and Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge will attend a state-level consultation in Hyderabad on November 5 to discuss the nature of information the count would throw up.
"LoP Rahul Gandhi and Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge will attend a state-level consultation with the stakeholders in Hyderabad on November 5. The Telangana government is conducting a detailed caste census which will throw up data related to different caste groups including the OBC. This will be an example as the central government is likely to conduct a decennial census in 2025 but there is no clarity if it would also include OBC. The census only captures details about the SC and ST groups but not the OBC which is the demand of our leader. The OBC data will help the state government redesign the affirmative agenda accordingly," AICC national coordinator for SC, ST, OBC and Minorities departments K Raju told ETV Bharat.
Raju said the “Save Constitution” event will echo the ideas that Gandhi highlighted in 2016 while addressing a rally to mark the 125th birth anniversary of Dr Ambedkar.
“Rahul Gandhi has been talking about the annihilation of the caste system which is needed to promote equality in the society. The Constitutional system also strives for social equality but faces several threats from BJP which has no regard for its provisions, practices and values. They have misused the central agencies, interfered with institutions and used illegal means to topple elected governments including in Maharashtra. We hope the message from the Nagpur conclave will reverberate across the country, particularly across the poll-bound states,” Raju said.
Telangana CM Reddy is also a star campaigner for the November 20 Maharashtra assembly elections. The November 6 event will be a gathering of civil society activists who will interact with Gandhi at the conclave.
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