Will PM Modi 'hijack' another Congress guarantee, conduct caste census: Ramesh

A day after the RSS comments on caste census the Congress on Tuesday wondered whether Prime Minister Narendra Modi would hijack another of Congress guarantee and conduct the caste census now with the Sangh having given the green signalThe Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh RSS on Monday said it has no objection to collecting data on specific communities or castes provided that the information is used for their welfare and not exploited as a political tool for electoral gainsReacting to the remarks Congress general secretary incharge communications Jairam Ramesh said RSSs preaching on caste census raises some basic questions such as does it have a veto power over caste censusWho is the RSS to give permission for caste census What does the RSS mean when it says caste census should not be misused for electioneering Is it to be a judge or umpire Ramesh said in a post in Hindi on XWhy has RSS maintained a mysterious silence on the need for a constitutional amendment to remove the 50 per cent cap on reservation for Dalits Adivasis and OBCs the Congress leader further askedNow that the RSS has given the green signal will the nonbiological Prime Minister hijack another Congress guarantee and conduct a caste census Ramesh saidCongress president Mallikarjun Kharge had said on Monday night that the RSS should clearly tell the country whether it is in favour or against caste censusIs the Sangh Parivar which is in favour of Manusmriti instead of the Constitution of the country worried about the participation of Dalits tribals backward classes and poordeprived society or not Kharge had said in a post in Hindi on XAddressing the media on Monday in Keralas Palakkad after a threeday coordination conclave called Samanway Baithak Sunil Ambekar RSS Akhil Bharatiya Prachar Pramukh said caste and casterelations were a very sensitive issue for the Hindu society and it is an important issue for our national unity and integrityHe was responding to a query on caste censusSo it should be dealt with very seriously and not just on the basis of elections or politicsSo as RSS thinks yes definitely for all welfare activities addressing the particular community or caste which is lagging behind and so special attention is needed to some communities and caste So for that the government needs the numbers It is very well practisedEarlier also it has taken So it can take it No problemBut it should be only to address the welfare of those communities and caste It should not be used as a political tool for electioneering And so we put a caution line for everyone Ambekar saidAmbekars statement came amidst campaigning by the opposition parties the Congress Samajwadi Party and other INDIA bloc allies seeking to hold a caste census for effective policy making