By Sushil Kutty
Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi’s call for a caste census and his remarks on caste — not casteist remarks — have sparked “a heated debate” with BJP leaders going for his larynx in a concerted move to silence him on caste census, accusing the LoP of dividing the country along caste-lines.
This, as it emerged, when it comes to the caste census, Rahul Gandhi doesn’t care two hoots for even Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi! Nehru, Indira and Rajiv Gandhi hated the caste system and made no bones of the fact that caste divided society and country, pitting human beings against human beings. And that India did not need the divisive caste system or the caste census.
Not Rahul Gandhi, whose idea of development is that of every caste group getting their fair share of “dal-roti & chawal”, and reservation in jobs. For that kind of diversity equity, Rahul Gandhi says caste census is a requisite. “Jiski Jitni Abaadi, Uski Utni Hissedaari”, the 54-year-old Gandhi scion parrots at every forum, and from every pulpit in the realm.
Like it or not, Rahul Gandhi on caste census is boring. But ever since the debate deteriorated to bitter raucousness, citizens haven’t stopped talking about caste and caste census. It doesn’t matter whether Dalit icon and the hero of the Constitution Dr. BR Ambedkar wrote the book ‘The Annihilation of Caste’ , the daily evening tos-and-fros on TV, slanging matches dressed up as debates, have become staple for politicians and for those who are politically-inclined.
Caste has chartered the thoughts of all party spokespersons. Rahul Gandhi, if he were not a politician, would have been a friend, philosopher and guide to the ‘PDA’ of Samajwadi Party Chief Akhilesh Yadav. The SP supremo understands Rahul’s obsession with caste. But BJP politicians are unnerved.
Union Minister Giriraj Singh, for instance, is BJP’s answer to Rahul Gandhi though the saffron party fields other stalwarts, too, to counter Rahul Gandhi’s caste nexus with the Muslim votebank. Giriraj Singh reacts to every turn of phrase of Rahul Gandhi; and when the LoP says something, anything, on the Caste Census, Singh is all ears. Rahul Gandhi’s breakthrough remarks, especially on the Caste Census, are staple for Giriraj Singh.
That being said, Rahul Gandhi is a politician who makes thinking out of the box a point though Rahul doesn’t make off the cuff caste statements. A lot of thinking goes into the query. The latest is Rahul Gandhi’s query, “Why weren’t there Dalit, tribal or OBC in the Miss India pageants?”
The question left the BJP flummoxed. “Why no Dalit, Adivasi and OBC?” asked Gandhi and the BJP is still slamming the inexplicable Rahul query, quite unable to answer. Caught off-guard, BJP leaders are hitting back with unforgiving Rahul jokes. Gandhi asked the question at the ‘Samvidhan Samman Sammelan’ in the national capital, where he warned that if Modi doesn’t order a caste census, he (Rahul Gandhi) would and “then don’t complain”, implying Modi would be losing his job sooner than later.
Cut to the quick, BJP leaders have condemned Rahul Gandhi’s “divisive” statements, which are “full of falsehoods”. A video has surfaced of “Miss Riya Ekka”, an adivasi from Chhattisgarh, who had been “crowned Miss India” a couple of years ago. Among the BJP leaders unleashed on Rahul Gandhi is BJP IT Cell Chief Amit Malviya.
The ‘yes caste census versus no caste census’ debate has taken on a red-hot burning edge and there are more people asking, “Can you see even one person from SC, ST or OBC community in the Miss India contests?” Both the BJP and the Congress are appealing for social harmony and safeguarding the provisions of the Constitution is another debating point.
Washing dirty linen is yet another, the latest fad of both the camps. People seem to be suddenly reminded that for decades, the OBC community was deprived of their share of development, and that they were called stupid. “Dalits were tortured, tribal communities were neglected and Muslims were used as vote-bank. Politics of balak buddhi is fraud,” Amit Malviya posted on ‘X’.
Union Minority Affairs minister Kiren Rijiju is asking why somebody so intelligent thinks of quotas in Miss India competitions, films, and in sports. “It is not only an issue of ‘Bal Buddhi,’ but also those who support him are equally responsible….Rahul Gandhi Ji, Governments don’t select Miss India, Governments don’t select athletes for Olympics, and Governments do not choose actors for Films!”
Talking of films, Rahul Gandhi himself is no mean actor, one of many hidden talents of the Gandhi scion, who it turns out can do a more than passable imitation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Earlier this year, a TMC Rajya Sabha MP did a fairly good imitation of Vice President Jagdeep Dhankar on the steps of Parliament and Rahul Gandhi filmed the imitation of Dhankar and his posture on his mobile.
Today, Rahul Gandhi has done an imitation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and it turns out that the subject of the “reel” was Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “posture”, which, says Rahul Gandhi, has destroyed the Prime Minister’s confidence in himself!
Rahul Gandhi says marginalised communities should get their fair share and the BJP does not believe in this maxim. He cited the contributions made by “90 percent” of the population and they were not spoken of in mainstream media. Gandhi asked how could India become an economic superpower if 90 percent of its people were left stranded on the sidelines? Modi meanwhile is trying for the Nobel Peace Prize and that, too, is a must for India! (IPA
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