Senior Congress leader Anand Sharma |
New Delhi: Senior Congress leader Anand Sharma has written to party president Mallikarjun Kharge, saying a caste census cannot be a solution for issues like unemployment and inequalities in the society.
In a departure from the Congress’s position on a caste census, the former Union minister has said it will be misconstrued as disrespecting the legacy of former prime ministers Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi, who never favoured caste-based politics.
Sharma’s letter comes at a time when the Congress has intensified its demand for a countrywide caste census and promised to carry out the exercise if elected to power in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.
The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) supported Sharma’s statement, saying some leaders within the Congress are showing a mirror to Rahul Gandhi.
Sources close to Sharma said the purpose of writing the letter was to initiate a debate on the issue and that is why he shared it with all the Congress Working Committee (CWC) members and Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leaders in states.
In his letter to Kharge, Sharma said the Congress has never engaged in nor endorsed identity politics and the departure from its historic position is a matter of concern for many.
He also said the articulation of the party position should be balanced and should eschew the radical posturing of regional and caste-based organisations.
“Though caste is a reality of Indian society, Congress has never engaged in nor endorsed identity politics. That is detrimental to democracy in a society with a rich diversity of region, religion, caste and ethnicity.
“As a representative national party, Congress has believed in inclusive approach, which is non-discriminatory in formulating policies for equity and social justice for the poor and the under-privileged,” he said.
Sharma asserted that a departure from the historic position is a matter of concern for many Congress workers across the country and calls for reflection.
“In my humble opinion, this will be misconstrued as disrespecting the legacy of Indiraji and Rajivji. Also by default, that will be an indictment of successive Congress governments and their work for empowerment of the disadvantaged sections. It also provides a handle to detractors and political opponents of the Congress,” he said.
Sharma recalled Indira Gandhi’s clarion call of 1980: “Na jaat par na paat par, mohar lagegi haath par”.
After the Mandal riots of 1990, Rajiv Gandhi, as the leader of opposition, had also said in Parliament: “We have problems if caste is defined to enshrine casteism in our country” and that the Congress cannot stand by and watch India being divided.
“In my considered view, a caste census cannot be a panacea nor a solution for unemployment and prevailing inequalities. A fundamental departure from time-honoured policy on this critical and sensitive subject has major long-term national implications,” Sharma said.
As a party with an inclusive approach, the Congress “should strive to reclaim its role as builder of national consensus and build a harmonious society. The articulation of party position should be balanced and eschew the radical posturing of regional and caste-based organisations”, he added.
Sharma said he is sharing his concerns on the buildup of political narratives and policy priorities for parties in the run-up to the Lok Sabha polls.
The caste census, he said, has emerged as an important issue in the electoral debate and this has been endorsed by the INDIA opposition bloc led by the Congress.
Affirmative action, as enshrined in the Constitution, provides for reservation for the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes and that reflects the collective wisdom of the framers of the Constitution. After independence, Sharma said, a conscious policy decision was made by the government not to canvass caste-related questions in the census, except for SCs and STs.
“All census commissioners, after independence, have recorded their reasons and disapproval of a national caste census citing overlap, duplication, data lacking in accuracy and doubtful authenticity,” he said.
Sharing Sharma’s letter on X, Union minister Kiren Rijiju said, “Shri Anand Sharma is known as one of the most loyal Congressmen ever. It seems some loyal Congress members have decided to stop Shri Rahul Gandhi from further insulting Late Indira Gandhi ji as well as Late Rajiv Gandhi.”
BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawala said “the Congress is itself exposing the Congress and showing the mirror to Gandhi-Vadra and showing them the real face and hypocrisy to divide the country for a few votes”.
He said this is not the first time that Rahul Gandhi has been called out by his party colleagues and even his allies like Akhilesh Yadav of the Samajwadi Party (SP) have pointed out his hypocrisy earlier.
Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera said Sharma is a senior leader and also a CWC member. “If he wanted to discuss anything, he could do so there,” he said.
Congress leader Naseer Hussain said, “The Congress is here to lead all Indians, representing every religion, caste and province. When it comes to social justice and development in various sectors like education and food security or for the backward classes, SCs, STs, minorities or disadvantaged groups, it can only be achieved through a caste census.”
