By Puja Mehrotra
After the Modi government’s announcement to conduct a caste census, political parties across the country are claiming it as their victory. On this, Union Minister and Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) President Chirag Paswan launched a scathing attack on Rahul Gandhi, Lalu Yadav, and Akhilesh Yadav, saying that they were in power for long but why did they not conduct a caste census then.
Chirag Paswan has been a key player in Bihar politics and is now vocally saying that his future is in Bihar. In an exclusive conversation with India.com, Chirag Paswan said, “I entered politics with the strategy of ‘Bihar First, Bihari First,’ and I see my future not at the Centre but in Bihar.”
Before the Bihar elections, PM Narendra Modi has fired the caste census bullet — something the BJP had avoided for years, even once labelling it as ‘urban Naxal.’ On this, Chirag candidly says, “This attempt to claim that the BJP was avoiding caste census is just a narrative-setting exercise to make it seem like the BJP didn’t want it.”
“I have myself supported caste-based census many times. I was often told that my views didn’t align with my alliance. BJP thinks differently, and you think differently — I was cornered many times like this. But I want to say that when the caste survey took place in Bihar, all the MLAs and ministers openly supported it. However, at the national level, the full credit for conducting this census goes to Hon’ble Modi Ji,” said Chirag. He adds that the BJP has been working on this for a long time — to determine when the caste census should be conducted.
On Congress’ Claim Of Caste Census
The last caste-based census was conducted in 1931, and since then, there have been significant demographic changes in the country. The population has increased massively. For this census to be done properly, infrastructure and transparency are essential, which requires thorough preparation. But now, this decision has been taken at the right time.
Paswan said that ever since the announcement to conduct the caste census, there’s been a race to take credit. “Rahul Gandhi says their pressure made the government act. Then I want to ask — your party was in power after independence, why didn’t you conduct the caste census? Forget the party — your family had three Prime Ministers. Also, in most states, your party ruled. So why didn’t you get it done? Forget caste census — you didn’t even conduct a survey. This reflects the thinking of such leaders and parties.”
On Lalu Yadav
He questioned Lalu Yadav and Tejashwi Yadav saying, “Your party ruled for 15 years and you were the Chief Minister yourself — so why didn’t you conduct the caste census?”
He said, “These people have jumped into the race to pressure the Modi government on caste census, but the statements by Rahul and Lalu Ji only expose the contradictions within their parties. All these people have used this issue as a political tool and brought it up only during elections, raising questions on reservations and setting false narratives.”
On Lok Sabha elections
Chirag admits that these false narratives created by parties caused damage to their alliance in the Lok Sabha elections. Referring to Uttar Pradesh, he said that due to the Constitution, false narratives, and the caste census issue, they suffered losses there. “But today Akhilesh Yadav is calling the caste census his victory, so I want to ask him — you were the Chief Minister yourself, Prabhu, why didn’t you conduct this census in your state?”
He said that all credit for conducting the caste census goes solely to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
On Announcement Amid Pak Tension
The announcement by PM Modi came amid anger over the Pahalgam attack and is being seen as part of the Bihar election strategy. On this, Chirag says, “If not today, the announcement was bound to happen eventually. What we must see is how our Prime Minister is making decisions regarding border tensions while also having the ability to deliver welfare schemes to the poor even in adverse conditions.”
