Modi Indirectly Slams Rivals Over Bihar Caste Census, Says They Are Still Dividing Society On Caste Lines

In an indirect jab at his rivals over the Bihar caste census, a problem the BJP is reluctant to address, Prime Minister Narendra Modi claimed on Monday that the Opposition was still engaging in the "paap" (sin) of dividing society along caste lines.

At a rally in Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh, where elections are imminent, Modi attempted to charge the "anti-development" Opposition, particularly the Congress, with wasting six decades in power by playing the "game" of playing on the impoverished people's emotions. But he avoided specifically mentioning the caste census statistics from Bihar.

"The nation had given these anti-development individuals six decades. The opposition had the chance to act, but they were unable to. They failed," he declared.

"They played with the poor people's emotions back then, and they're still doing it today. The same sin is being committed today as it was formerly when caste was exploited to divide society, Modi continued.

The remarks were made in response to the Nitish Kumar-led alliance government in Bihar disclosing the state's caste census data, which revealed that 63% of the population was OBC, with 36% of them belonging to the Extremely Backward Classes.

The Modi government has been dodging the subject while not openly opposing such an exercise given the political sensitivities involved, despite the Congress and many other INDIA parties' calls for a nationwide caste census.

In the run-up to the Lok Sabha elections next year, the BJP is concerned that counting castes could bring back Mandal politics and caste-proportionate reservation, which could be politically problematic for the party.

The BJP places a strong political and ideological emphasis on promoting religion and preventing caste from undermining the broader Hindutva movement.

By emphasizing that Prime Minister Modi is an OBC, the BJP strategically plays the OBC card, but refrains from going into too much detail out of concern that it could alienate its traditional upper caste supporters.

The former UPA administration carried out a socioeconomic and caste census in 2011–12, but the Modi dispensation did not make its caste statistics public. The report's release has been demanded by the opposition.

The central BJP avoided giving an official answer about the Bihar caste census, maybe as a result of these worries. Anurag Singh Thakur, the minister of information and broadcasting, spoke to the media in the evening at the party headquarters to criticize the Trinamul Congress for its demonstration in Delhi but avoided questions about the caste census.

"The Bihar caste census report was released today. When questioned, Thakur replied, "We will carefully review it and then appear before you.

However, several BJP officials in Bihar made comments about the census and criticized it as a pointless process.

"This census is based on caste groups rather than castes, not the other way around. Where can I find information about the economic and scholastic standing of each caste? Which castes have not benefited from reservations? Will you create initiatives or policies based on caste? What do you want to gain from this? In a video message released by news agency PTI, Ajay Alok, a JDU crossover who was appointed national spokesperson of the BJP on Monday, said: "You won't gain anything from this, you've only wasted Rs 500 crore."