Rajasthan polls: BJP trying to create two Indias, says Rahul Gandhi

Congress MP Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday said the BJP wants to create two Indias. “They want to create two Indias. On one side is Adani wala India, and on the other side is true Hindustan, Mother India, where people give blood and sweat 24 hours a day. We do not want two Indias,” Gandhi said while addressing a poll rally in Rajasthan.

He said if the Congress government comes back to power in Rajasthan, they will first conduct a caste survey in Rajasthan. “As soon as our government comes to power at the Centre, the Congress will conduct caste census in the entire country. There should be equal participation of backward people, poor, Dalits and tribals,” Gandhi said.

He said once the caste census was done, state governments would be able to take action accordingly. “India will change after the caste census,” he said.

Gandhi added that the day India allows its poor, backward, tribals and Dalits to participate in the running of the country, a miracle would take place. “Backwards, Dalits, tribals will understand the power which will change our country,” he said.

The Congress leader said in every speech, Prime Minister Narendra Modi says he belongs to the OBC (other backward classes) category. “What is the population of OBCs in India? No one knows. No one knows the population of backward people in our country,” he said.

“I asked in Parliament that we praise Bharat Mata, but no one knows the population of Bharat Mata. So, I demanded a caste census in Parliament,” he said.

He added that since he spoke about the caste census, PM Modi has changed his speeches. “Since then, Modi has been saying there is one caste in India, that is the poor. When the time came to win the elections, Modi ji becomes OBC. But when it comes to giving participation to the OBCs, he says there is only one caste and that is the poor,” Gandhi said.

In his speech, he reiterated his earlier remarks that India is not run by MPs and MLAs. “At least 90 officers, along with the cabinet secretary and the prime minister, run the country. These people decide how much budget money will go to health, education, insurance and defence.

“How many IAS officers are from the backward classes out of these 90 officials? The backward population is 50 per cent, and out of these 90 officials, only one officer is tribal and three officers are Dalit,” he said.

Gandhi added that today, despite the population of backward classes being 50 per cent, their share in the country's resources is less than five per cent.

He said during the Bharat Jodo Yatra in 2022-23, he travelled from Kanyakumari to Kashmir, and only one or two slogans emerged during the yatra.

“The most beautiful slogan that emerged from the Bharat Jodo Yatra was, 'we have to open a shop of love in the market of hatred',” said Gandhi, who addressed election rallies in Rajkheda, Nadbai, and Gangapur City in Rajasthan.