Priyanka Gandhi promises caste survey in Chhattisgarh if Cong retains power

Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Friday said if her party retains power in Chhattisgarh after the upcoming assembly polls, a caste census will be carried out in the state on the lines of a similar recent exercise conducted in Bihar.

Addressing Nagariya Nikaay Evam Panchayati Raj Mahasammlen, organised by the government in Chhattisgarh's Kanker district, she also promised 10 lakh houses for the poor if her party is voted back to power in the elections due by the year-end.

Hitting out at the BJP-led government at the Centre, Gandhi alleged that it is for the rich and has no concern for the poor or the middle class.

“If the Congress party is again elected to power in Chhattisgarh, a caste census will be carried out in the state on the lines of a caste survey conducted in Bihar,” she said.

The ruling party's announcement is being seen as a major move to woo Other Backward Classes (OBC), who account for about 45 per cent of the state's population, in the run up to the polls.

Taking a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Congress leader said guarantees given by him are just hollow promises.

"What happened to Modi's guarantee of depositing Rs 15 lakh into bank accounts of every citizen and of generating crores of jobs? Whenever a question is asked, Modi ji gives a new guarantee. His guarantees are hollow guarantees," she said.

Gandhi said the BJP-led government at the Centre has weakened farmers in the country.

Farmers in the country are earning just Rs 27 per day, while Adani and other industrialists are making Rs 1,600 crore per day, she said.

"They (BJP) just want the country's assets to be handed over to their industrialist friends and then divert them (assets/ money) through them to the party. And then they keep on spending (money) in elections. Their only aim is to remain in power, not the welfare of people," Gandhi alleged.

She also hit out at the previous Raman Singh government in Chhattisgarh (2003-18) and claimed there was rule of violence in the state during the BJP regime.

After coming to power five years ago, the Congress pulled the Naxalite-affected state out of the clutches of violence, Gandhi said.