At DMK's Social Justice Meet, Opposition Parties Raise The Pitch For Caste Census

Leaders of many opposition political parties on Monday made a strong case for a caste census at a DMK-convened conference on social justice, besides calling for forging unity to take on the Bharatiya Janata Party in the run-up to the 2024 general election while underscoring the need for the opposition parties to jointly raise issues pertaining to the backward classes. 

This comes even as the BJP is set to launch a nation-wide movement to reach out to the other backward class communities from April 6, the party's foundation day. The BJP, which has been working on consolidating the OBCs as a core section of its voter-base not just in Lok Sabha polls, but also in assembly elections, has been walking a tightrope when it comes to the caste-census. States such as Odisha and Bihar have started caste surveys, while the Samajwadi party in Uttar Pradesh has also been mounting pressure on the BJP government to launch a census. 

A UP-based BJP leader said the numbers of OBC castes might end up giving regional parties a chance to mount pressure on the ruling party for reviewing the OBC reservation, and take the focus away from the BJP's thrust on development, Hindutva and nationalism.

On Monday, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav said the State government in Bihar has already launched a caste-based survey, and the results are expected soon.

"Based on the outcome we will have our quantum of reservation," the leader said. He also called for reservation in private institutions as jobs in public sectors have shrunk.

He added that it was a concern that when governments in Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand want to provide more reservation for OBCs, the governors stall it.

Rajasthan CM and Congress leader Ashok Gehlot said that he has written to PM Narendra Modi for a law on social security. "Congress also wants a caste-based census," he said.

RJD MP Manoj Jha, meanwhile, went to the extent of calling for a boycott of the census, if there is no caste census. "We should give a call -- no census, if no caste census. Numbers have chemistry, psychology and traction and we need all the three," he said.  

Currently, the decennial census enumerates the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes, which is why we have an accurate picture of their population numbers and socio-economic condition, but not of the OBCs.  

Trinamool Congress' Derek O'Brien called for more parties like the BJD, and the YSRCP to also join the forum, stating this was not the time to "sit on the fence". He said reservation benefits should be extended to those who convert to other religions too, and expressed his party's support for the caste census. Aam Aadmi Party MP Sanjay Singh also said the AAP was in full support of the caste census.

CM MK Stalin said that his government was totally against reservation based on economic considerations "since they were transient and could never be a constant yardstick." At least four opposition leaders also called for the extension of reservation to the private sector, claiming that jobs in public sector undertakings have dried up. At least three political parties also flagged the delay in census.

The Census was scheduled to have been conducted in 2021 but was postponed due to Covid-19.

DMK MP P Wilson who had put the event together said political parties need to come together to address the "systemic abuse of power." He reiterated for judiciary to be representative of people from all castes, pushed for a caste census and said it was important to include OBC reservation in promotions and not just in initial appointments.

The recent disqualification of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for his comments in 2019 on the 'Modi surname' and the BJP accusing him of insulting the OBC communities also made it to the meeting. "Modi is a surname, not a caste. I have brought with me the list of Modis in Gujarat. Even Parsis use it. We should resolve for OBC census along with the national census," NCP's Chhagan Bhujbal said.

Mooted by the DMK, the conference discussed 'Social Justice: The Road Ahead', was organised by the All India Social Justice Forum set up by MK Stalin in 2022, to build a united opposition against “bigotry and religious hegemony." Stalin had then reached out to 37 political parties requesting them to join forces to speak in one voice for the oppressed. The meeting was held in hybrid mode with many opposition leaders joining the meeting via video conferencing. 

Other attendees included former Uttar Pradesh CM and Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav, former Union minister and senior Congress leader Veerappa Moily, CPI's D Raja, CPM's Sitaram Yechury,  K Keshava Rao of the Bharat Rashtra Samithi, VCK's Thol Thirumavalavan and MDMK leader Vaiko. 

DMK Looks At Strengthening Its Position In The Opposition

DMK sources said the party was looking at getting issue-based support from like-minded parties to promote the Dravidian model of governance with focus on social justice, and added that a similar meet-up of opposition leaders was being planned in the next few months. The party has been reaching out to different political parties to build a front against the BJP, making it clear that it wants to take the Congress along, unlike some other opposition parties such as the TMC or AAP that have opposed a Congress-led opposition. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Tejashwi Yadav and Farooq Abdullah were among those who were part of the Stalin's 70th birthday celebrations recently.

Party sources said the coming together of 14 opposition parties to file a petition against alleged misuse of Central agencies and its upcoming hearing will cement the unity. Recently, Stalin had also participated in the centenary celebrations of the Vaikom Satyagraha sharing the stage with Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.