E-Paper
Akhilesh Yadav wants caste census, says it will end Hindu-Muslim conflict
Referring to the previous census, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav said, “We all wanted a caste census then also, but the Congress did not let that happen, and the caste numbers did not come out.”
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Monday reiterated his demand for conducting a caste census. Yadav renewed his demand for caste census following the Odisha cabinet’s resolution seeking revelation of caste details in the next census.
Referring to the previous census, Yadav said, “We all wanted a caste census then also, but the Congress did not let that happen, and the caste numbers did not come out.”
“Census is happening again, but again we are not going to be counted. The reason is that the day the caste census takes place, the Hindu-Muslim conflict will end,” Yadav said without elaborating.
Yadav was addressing his party cadre at a membership drive at the SP headquarters in Lucknow.
Criticising the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Assam, he said: “NRC has created a rift in that state. Lakhs of people in Assam have found themselves excluded from the NRC at the end of the exercise to weed out illegal migrants. NRC and Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) are anti-poor. How will poor manage papers related to their date of birth? We have a culture where many people, if you ask them their date of birth, reply something like this – ‘two days after Diwali or two days before Diwali’. Earlier, there never kept calendars handy. Festivals were the reference points.”
He said this (BJP) government has been making people go through inconveniences and stand in queues. “Once it was demonetisation of Narendra Modi government, and now there will be for NRC, NPR, CAA.” he said.
Hitting out at the BJP government in Uttar Pradesh, the former chief minister said: “Look on what counts this government made UP number one. Now, Uttar Pradesh is number one in fake encounters; number one in crime against women, number one is cybercrime, number one in crime against children, number one in worst education system, number one in educated youth unemployment...”
He further said: “They (BJP) could not do any work. The government that failed on actions and promises resorted to name change politics. Now, they are changing a river’s name. Ghagra is the name given by our ancestors. We don’t know why the ancestors called it so. The government is changing its name. It had altered UP100 emergency response system, introduced by SP government, to 112.”
Yadav further said: “Even their ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas’ slogan is the socialism concept stolen from us. They stole the concept, made a slogan, but did not bring about any socialism. Instead, they divided society.”
