Hyderabad: Dr. K Laxman, BJP OBC Morcha national president and Rajya Sabha member, has criticized the Congress government for bringing up caste enumeration as a political move to attract Backward Classes (BCs).
Speaking to the media on Friday, Dr. Laxman accused Congress of neglecting the BCs, Scheduled Castes (SCs), and Scheduled Tribes (STs) through policies introduced by leaders like Jawaharlal Nehru and Rajiv Gandhi. He demanded that Rahul Gandhi and the Congress party apologize for these past injustices.
Dr. Laxman emphasized that caste enumeration has not been done since British rule, and Congress is to blame for this. He pointed to Karpoori Thakur, a former Chief Minister of Bihar, who in 1977 implemented reservations for BCs and worked for social justice. However, he noted that Congress ignored such efforts and even prevented Dalit leader Sitaram Kesri from completing his term as party president.
The BJP leader also criticized former Union Minister P. Chidambaram for conducting a sample survey with a budget of Rs 5,000 crore through private agencies. Dr. Laxman claimed that this survey misused public money, and the results have not been made public.
He contrasted this with the BJP-JDU government in Bihar, which conducted a caste census in 2022. The survey revealed details about SC, ST, and BC social groups, and the government decided to increase the reservation quota for these communities in Bihar.
Dr. Laxman further accused the previous BRS government in Telangana of failing to expand reservations for SCs and STs. He mentioned that Congress had promised to implement 42 percent reservation in local body elections but has not fulfilled this promise even after being in power for a year.
Finally, he alleged that BCs have been treated unfairly in the appointments to the cabinet and various corporations under Congress rule.
