Caste census is one of the primary agendas of Congress: Surjewala

NEW DELHI: Congress General Secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala said on Saturday that at the meeting of the Central Election Committee (CEC) of the party, caste census was also discussed as it is one of the top priorities of the party to ensure justice for the OBC, SC and ST communities.

The CEC meeting chaired by party President Mallikarjun Kharge on Saturday was attended by Congress Parliamentary Party (CCP) chairperson Sonia Gandhi and former party chief Rahul Gandhi, among other senior leaders.

Speaking to the media after the meeting, Surjewala, who is also the in-charge of Madhya Pradesh, said the CEC meeting discussed the political situation in the poll-bound state.

“We discussed how the BJP and the Shivraj Singh Chouhan government has brought the state to a situation where government jobs are sold, where women and daughters are not safe... Madhya Pradesh has a number of alleged scams,” he said.

"We briefed the CEC that the state needs to change and there is also a wave of change. This is the reason why Prime Minister Narendra Modi has stopped taking the name of Shivraj Singh Chouhan. He is also not discussing his works in the last 18 years in the state,” the Congress leader said, adding that there is no such scheme that the Prime Minister can mention.

“The CEC also discussed the candidates for the Assembly seats in Madhya Pradesh. We have decided to meet again,” he said.

When asked if caste-based census was discussed at the meeting, Surjewala said, “Caste census is one of the primary agendas of the party. OBC, SC and ST communities should get justice, and it is the priority of the Congress in Madhya Pradesh. The matter was discussed and Kamal Nath said that this will remain our primary agenda.”

The Congress is campaigning aggressively in Madhya Pradesh with Kharge, Rahul Gandhi and party General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra leading from the front.

All the three senior leaders have addressed public meetings in the poll-bound state.