Lok Sabha Elections: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday emphasised on caste census and called for an “X-ray of India” to apprise all the people belonging to backward classes, Dalits, and the poor of their respective populations.
While speaking at a rally in Maharashtra's Amravati district, the former Congress chief also said that if the opposition bloc I.N.D.I.A is voted to power, besides the caste census, an economic survey and a survey of all the institutions in India will also be done. He also asserted that all these steps would be taken as soon as the I.N.D.I.A bloc comes to power and forms the government at the centre.
“We have to get India’s X-ray done. X-ray means caste census. After the caste census, Dalits, tribals, backwards, poor people belonging to the general caste, and minorities will learn about their respective population sizes. Along with the caste census, we will get the economic survey done and the survey of all institutions in India. Just like the White Revolution and the Green Revolution, this is a revolutionary decision, and we are going to get this done immediately after forming the government. The amount of money they will give to billionaires, we will give the same to farmers, labourers, poor, Dalits, and backwards.”
Gandhi’s remarks come a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that the Congress is stuck in the quagmire of its vote bank and does not care about the Constitution. He also accused the grand old party of hatching a "deep conspiracy" to snatch people's wealth and distribute it among "select" people.
"It is written in their manifesto that they will survey the wealth. Their leader had said in a speech that an X-ray of wealth would be done. This means that if something is kept in a box or hidden in a wall, it will be searched through an X-ray. Then they will capture all your property which is more than required and then distribute it among the people," he said, as quoted by news agency PTI.
At a rally in Rajasthan on Sunday, Modi said that if the Congress came to power, it would redistribute the wealth of people to "infiltrators" and those who have more children, and cited former PM Manmohan Singh's remark that the minority community had the first claim on the country's resources.
Mahalaxmi Scheme Will Change Face Of The Country: Rahul Gandhi
During the rally in Amravati, Rahul Gandhi also claimed that the Mahalaxmi scheme and his party's promise of the right to apprenticeship, both aimed to uplift the poor women and youth, will change the face of the country by creating crores of "lakhpatis". He said no force in the world can change the Constitution of India.
The Congress, which is a part of the opposition I.N.D.I.A alliance, has listed the Mahalaxmi scheme and the right to apprenticeship among its various promises made in its manifesto for the ongoing Lok Sabha polls. Gandhi claimed that 10 years of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's rule saw 22-25 persons becoming "arabpatis" (billionaires), while the INDIA alliance, if voted to power, will create crores of "lakhpatis", as reported by PTI.
The Congress leader further claimed that the saffron party wanted to change the Constitution because it did not want 90 per cent of the population, which comprises the backwards, advisasis, Dalits and minorities, to know their real potential. "No force in the world can change the Constitution, wonder what gave the BJP confidence to even think of doing so," he said, as quoted by PTI.
The Mahalaxmi scheme, aiming to provide Rs 1 lakh every year to the poor women, and the right to apprenticeship, which aims to enable graduates and diploma holders to get a one-year job as apprentices and provide Rs 1 lakh in their bank accounts, will change the face of the country and make crores of "lakhpatis", Gandhi claimed.