Amid Bihar Caste Census Row, Prime Minister Modi Accuses Opposition of Attempting To Divide Country

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has accused the opposition of attempting to sow division in the country along caste lines.

His statement came in response to the Bihar government's release of a controversial caste-based survey.

Although the Prime Minister did not specifically mention the survey or any particular party, he criticised the opposition for failing to prioritise development during their time in power and for manipulating the emotions of the poor.

Addressing a gathering in Gwalior, the Prime Minister expressed his disappointment with the opposition's persistent use of divisive tactics.

He highlighted their past actions of dividing the nation along caste lines and accused them of repeating the same mistake. Furthermore, he raised concerns about their increasing corruption.

Prime Minister Modi strongly condemned any efforts to divide the country based on caste, describing it as a sinful act.

Many interpreted the Prime Minister's remarks as criticism aimed at both the ruling Janata Dal (United) in Bihar, a former ally of the BJP, and the Congress, the primary opposition in Madhya Pradesh.

Rahul Gandhi, advocating for a caste census, reiterated the Congress party's demand for the central government to conduct a national caste census promptly.

His party emphasised that the previous UPA (United Progressive Alliance) government had completed the census, but the results were not released by the Modi government.

The report's release, just ahead of a general election in a state with 40 parliamentary seats, the majority of which were won by the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance in the 2019 election, is expected to heighten political tensions.

According to the Bihar caste survey, 27 per cent of the population belongs to the Other Backward Classes (OBC), while 36 per cent are classified as Extremely Backward Classes (EBC).

The opposition bloc INDI Alliance is actively pushing for a caste census, and this issue is gaining prominence, and is expected to be a major topic in the upcoming elections.

Sushil Kumar Modi, who was once Nitish Kumar's close associate, revealed that it was the BJP-JD(U) Bihar government, before Nitish Kumar left the alliance, that decided to conduct a caste survey.

Nitish Kumar, along with Tejashwi Yadav and Lalu Prasad Yadav, has welcomed the release of the caste-based survey report and intends to convene a meeting of all parties in the assembly, including the BJP, to discuss the next steps.

This marks the first caste-based headcount since 1931, and while the UPA conducted a socio-economic caste census in 2011, the caste-related data has remained undisclosed to the public.

Other states like Karnataka and Odisha have also expressed intentions to conduct similar caste-based surveys.