New Delhi: The Congress on Friday said the government's caste census decision is in line with its pattern of first opposing every good scheme or policy, defaming it and then adopting the same policy in the face of public pressure and reality.
Congress general secretary in charge of communications Jairam Ramesh claimed that the Modi government has neither any vision of its own nor any direction to solve the problems and is only adept at diverting the attention of the public, running away from real issues as well as furthering its divisive agenda.
"Caste census – which the Modi government tried to suppress for years – the same government has finally succumbed to the unwavering fight of Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, the Congress party and countless social workers and organisations. This is an important milestone in the fight for social justice," Ramesh said.
The Modi government, which till yesterday was shying away from even its name and was leaving no stone unturned to ridicule and procrastinate, has today agreed to conduct a caste census, bowing to the heavy pressure of the public and the struggle of the opposition, he said.
"In fact, this has been the pattern of the BJP government – first oppose every good scheme or policy, defame it' – and when faced with public pressure and reality, adopt the same policy," Ramesh said.
"Remember what the Prime Minister said in Parliament about MGNREGA – 'Monument of failure' – The scheme which the world called a model of rural employment and poverty alleviation, the same MGNREGA, was mocked, it was said that people are digging pits. But when a crisis like coronavirus came, this MGNREGA became the backbone of the poor of the country. What happened then? The government also increased its budget and also tried to take credit for it," the Congress leader said.
Ramesh pointed out that the same happened with Aadhaar; when the BJP was in opposition, it used to say that "it is a threat to privacy and is just a political stunt", but as soon as it came to power, it made the same Aadhaar the foundation of the entire welfare system.
"The story of GST is also no different. When the Congress took the initiative to bring GST, the BJP strongly opposed it, stating that it is against the interests of the states. But as soon as it came to power, it implemented it without any major changes and then started praising itself by calling it a 'game changer'," Ramesh said.
He also said that the system of Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) was created by Congress so that subsidies reach directly to the account of the public.
"At that time, the BJP rejected it, saying, 'This will not work.'" But as soon as it came to power, it implemented this DBT in the entire country and started beating the drum of 'Digital India'," Ramesh said.
The Congress on Thursday claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is the "master of giving a headline without a deadline" and called the government's caste census decision a "diversionary tactic" in the face of demands for taking strong action against Pakistan following the Pahalgam terror attack.
(inputs from PTI)