Can conduct caste census in 3 months after SP forms govt: Akhilesh

Lucknow, Aug 16 (PTI): Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav on Sunday said that if the Centre fails to conduct a caste census, then after coming to power, their government would carry out the survey in three month.

Written By : PTI | Updated at : 17 Aug 2026 12:19 AM (IST)

Lucknow, Aug 16 (PTI): Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav on Sunday said that if the Centre fails to conduct a caste census, then after coming to power, their government would carry out the survey in three months.

Addressing a convention organised here to mark the 196th birth anniversary of freedom fighter Rani Avantibai Lodhi, Yadav said the SP wanted a caste census so that people could receive rights and respect according to their population.

"We want everyone to get rights and respect according to their numbers after the caste census. If the government in Delhi cannot conduct the caste census, then after the Samajwadi government is formed, we will conduct it within three months and ensure rights and respect for all," he said.

Yadav said a future SP government would declare August 16 a holiday in honour of Rani Avantibai Lodhi and organise celebrations and programmes on her birth anniversary. He also promised to install her statue with a golden sword at Lucknow's Gomti Riverfront.

He said the "PDA" would include all sections of society and that the SP would work to unite people for social justice and form a PDA government.

PDA is a slogan coined by Yadav referring primarily to backward classes, Dalits and minorities.

The SP chief also attacked the BJP over recent protests by students in Delhi over paper leaks, alleging that the government removed Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan to "save the prime minister".

Referring to the alleged theft of offerings at the Ram temple in Ayodhya, Yadav said those who talked about bringing "Ram Rajya" had "looted Ram's wealth." "The people have understood the BJP's reality. They will not be able to escape now. If the Lodhi community unites, the BJP will disappear. The Samajwadi Party will give the Lodhi community respect and representation," he said.

Claiming that the SP had come close to forming the government in 2022, he asserted that the BJP's defeat in the 2027 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections was certain. PTI CDN AMJ AMJ

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