'Mr PM, you talk of OBCs...': Rahul Gandhi dares PM Modi to make 2011 caste census data public

On Sunday, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi challenged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to release the 2011 caste-based census data to the public and demanded the removal of the 50 per cent cap on reservations. Speaking at the Congress' 'Jai Bharat' election rally in Kolar, Gandhi argued that the release of this data is crucial to ensuring that every community has a fair share in the development of the country.

The Socio Economic and Caste Census (SECC) was compiled by the Congress-led UPA regime in 2011. While reports from the census have been published, the caste data has yet to be made public. In his speech, Gandhi emphasized the need to make this data available to the public to understand the population size of different communities.

"Mr Prime Minister, you talk of OBCs. Make that data public. Let the nation know how many OBCs, Dalits and tribals are there in the country,” Gandhi said.

Gandhi also pointed out that only 7 per cent of secretaries in the central government are from Dalit, tribal and OBC communities. He highlighted the need for representation from all communities in government positions, stating that secretaries are the "backbones" of the Government of India.

“If everyone has to become part of the development of the country, it is necessary to find out the population size of each community. Please release the caste census data so that the nation knows how much is the population of OBCs, Dalits, and tribals. If you don't do this, then it is an insult to the OBCs," Gandhi added.

"The biggest question is how many OBCs, tribals and Dalits are there in India. If we talk of money and power distribution, then the first step should be to find out the size of their population," Gandhi explained.

This was Gandhi's first rally in Karnataka since he was convicted in a defamation case and disqualified from Parliament last month. 

(With Agency inputs)