If voted to power, Cong will map wealth resources to know who owns what: Rahul

PTI, Feb 20, 2024, 9:17 AM IST

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday asserted that his party would conduct a caste census if voted to power and this will prove to be an ”X-ray of the country”. Addressing people during the ‘Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra’ here, he also said his party will map wealth resources to know who owns what in order to make India strong.

”The BJP and the RSS are spreading hatred… In Narendra Modi’s Hindustan, there is no place for the backwards, Dalits, tribals and poor people from the general category,” Gandhi said.

”In every Rs 100 of the country’s budget, the share of the two-thirds section of the population is merely Rs 6. The gross injustice being done to this section is making the country hollow from inside,” he added.

”To make the country strong, the Congress is going to take two revolutionary steps. The first will be to conduct a caste census, which will be an X-ray of the country. The second will be the mapping of wealth resources which will reveal who owns what and how much,” Gandhi said.

Without making two-thirds of the country’s population a development partner, India’s prosperity is impossible, the Congress leader added.

In his address at the same event, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying his guarantee is not for the farmers, labourers, Dalits, tribal and backward people of the country.

Union minister Smriti Irani too was in Amethi, her parliamentary constituency, on Monday. The BJP leader is on a four-day visit.

Speaking to mediapersons, Irani mocked Gandhi, claiming that deserted streets welcomed the Congress leader when he arrived here as part of his Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra and dared him to contest from Amethi alone in the Lok Sabha elections.

Gandhi had represented Congress bastion Amethi in the Lok Sabha for 15 years before he was defeated by Irani in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. The Congress leader, however, won from Wayanad, the second seat he contested in the polls.

”Rahul Gandhi considered Amethi as the centre of power but did not provide service, that is why he was welcomed by the deserted streets of Amethi,” Irani added.

Gandhi also attacked the Centre over the situation in Manipur. ”The situation in Manipur is not good. Bullets are being fired there but the Centre is not paying attention… Six-seven months have passed but Prime Minister Narendra Modi has still not visited the state,” he added.

The Congress leader further said that OBC, Dalits and tribals constitute 73 per cent of the population but these classes are not being represented in any government or semi-government jobs.

”There are 90 IAS officers in Delhi who run the government. But not a single officer from Dalit, backward and tribal classes is among them… If you get a list of MGNREGA workers, your name will be there. But Dalits, tribals and people of backward classes are not being given space in higher positions. The government is only diverting the attention of these sections,” he added.

Gandhi also alleged that not a single person from the OBC or the tribal category was at the Ayodhya Ram temple consecration ceremony on January 22. ”Even President Droupadi Murmu was not allowed. Wealthy people were definitely seen in the programme,” he said.

On the ongoing farmers’ protest, the Congress leader said, ”Congress promises that if it comes to power, the interest of the farmers of the country will be talked about.” The ‘Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra’ entered Amethi Monday afternoon. It passed through Police Lines, Gandhi Chowk, Jama Masjid and Gauriganj of the Amethi assembly constituency and reached the Gandhinagar toll plaza, where Gandhi addressed the gathering.

As the yatra entered the Amethi border, Congress workers showered flowers on Gandhi. The Congress leader greeted and shook hands. He garlanded the statues of Mahatma Gandhi and his father Rajiv Gandhi in Amethi city.

Rahul Gandhi’s convoy will make a night halt in Fursatganj and leave for Raebareli on Tuesday morning.