Bhopal: Senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday said his party would conduct a caste-based census to know the exact number of Other Backward Class (OBC) people living in the country if it is voted to power at the Centre.

Gandhi, who was addressing a “Jan Akrosh Yatra” in Kalapipal assembly constituency in Shajapur district of Madhya Pradesh, alleged that the poll-bound state has become an “epicentre of corruption” in the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) regime.

“Madhya Pradesh is an epicentre of corruption in the country. Scams like Vyapam have rocked the state. MBBS degrees are being sold, exam papers are being leaked, and (there is corruption) in the construction of Mahakal Lok corridor, among others,” Gandhi said.

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Elections to the 230-member Madhya Pradesh assembly are scheduled for later this year.

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The former Congress president alleged that the state government was not working for the people but for a couple of industrialists. He also claimed that 18,000 farmers have died by suicide in the last 18 years of the BJP rule in Madhya Pradesh. “It means three farmers end their lives every day in the state,” he alleged.

He also reiterated the opposition INDIA (Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance) bloc’s promise of holding a caste-based census if voted to power in the 2024 general elections.

“After coming to power, the first thing we will do is to go for a caste-based census to know the exact number of OBCs and other sections of people for the benefit of all as no one knows their exact number,” Gandhi said. “…When I raise the question of caste census, people of BJP start trembling. [Prime Minister] Narendra Modi starts running away. [Union home minister] Amit Shah starts Hindu-Muslim.”

The Wayanad MP further claimed that the country was being run by only 90 bureaucrats, including the cabinet secretary and secretaries, while the BJP lawmakers had no role in framing policies and laws in the country.

“The RSS [Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh] and bureaucrats are framing laws instead of elected BJP members…The RSS has given the job to the government to divert people’s attention from core issues,” Gandhi alleged.

Accusing the BJP government of working for one or two industrialists, Gandhi alleged that he was disqualified from the Lok Sabha after he spoke against industrialist Gautam Adani in the House. “After I raised the issue, BJP quashed my membership. I don’t bother, I will speak the truth,” he added.

Speaking on the women’s reservation law, which seeks to reserve 33% seats in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies for women, the Congress leader said it would take around 10 years to implement the law.

“Women’s reservation is good. But they have incorporated two lines in it. It will be implemented after (population census) survey and de-notification (delimitation). This will take 10 years…Why is there no OBC reservation in it?” Gandhi said.

Making an appeal to the voters, he said there are two ideologies at play in India —one of “love, respect and brotherhood” endorsed by the Congress, while another of “hate and anger” that is “backed by the RSS and the BJP”.

“We pursue the ideology of Mahatma Gandhi, while they follow Nathuram Godse. They pursue hate ideology. Now, the youth and farmers have started hating them,” he added.

Praising Congress-led governments in Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Karnataka and Himachal Pradesh, the former party chief said: “We fulfill all the guarantees made to the people in the four states. In Karnataka, women are travelling for free in buses. In Chhattisgarh, people are getting ₹2,500 per quintal for paddy. In Rajasthan, people are getting free treatment up to ₹15 lakh. Even in Madhya Pradesh, Congress tried to fulfill the promises, but you were cheated by BJP.”

The BJP hit back at the Congress leader, accusing him and his party of trying to divide the country on the basis of caste.

“I want to ask Rahul Gandhi, on which OBC leader’s decision does the Congress work in Madhya Pradesh. Does the party not work on [directions of] Kamal Nath and Digvijaya Singh? How many CMs have you made from OBCs in Madhya Pradesh? The answer is Zero. How many opposition leaders did you make from OBCs in Madhya Pradesh? Zero,” BJP spokesperson Rajneesh Agrawal said.

“You [Rahul Gandhi] say that bureaucrats run the government, then how many chief secretaries were appointed from OBCs in the Congress government? Congress and your family follow the policy of divide and rule by creating rift on caste lines,” he added.