Sagar: Party president Mallikarjun Kharge announced on Tuesday that if the Congress were to win the assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh, they would conduct a caste census in the state. Kharge made this announcement after accusing the central government of wanting to amend the Constitution.
While at Sagar, in the Bundelkhand region of MP, he spoke at a public rally.
Elections for the state legislature are scheduled for later this year in the BJP-controlled state.
"There are those who would amend the Constitution. Kharge, paying tribute to Dr. BR Ambedkar, who was born in Mhow, Madhya Pradesh, stated, "This is not possible because 140 crore people of the country are in support of the protection of the Constitution."
During the 2014 election cycle, Kharge blasted the ruling BJP for "remembering" Sant Ravidas, a hero to members of the Scheduled Castes.
Recently, Prime Minister Narendra Modi helped lay the groundwork for a memorial-come-temple dedicated to Sant Ravidas in Sagar district at a cost of Rs 100 crore.
According to the 2011 Census, there were 1.13 billion Dalits living in the state of MP.
It's been nine years since Modi ji took office, and Chouhan (Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan) has been in charge of the state for the past eighteen. When it came time to vote, that's when they remembered Ravidas," Kharge added.
Kharge said the BJP destroyed a Sant Ravidas temple in Delhi, citing a news article as evidence.
He promised that if the Congress gets elected in Madhya Pradesh, a university would be founded in Sagar district and named after Sant Ravidas.
Kharge added that, once in power again, the Congress party in MP will conduct a caste-based census.
In light of the current situation in Manipur, Kharge has stated that Prime Minister Modi is not doing "anything" to stem the bloodshed in the northeastern state.
He further said that Rahul Gandhi's recommended Bundelkhand package, which was accepted by the BJP government, had been ignored.
The BJP won Bina, Naryoli, Jatara, Chandala, and Hatta in the 2018 state elections; the Congress gained Gunnor, one of the six assembly seats allocated for SCs in Bundelkhand, in north-east MP.
The BJP won 15 of the 26 assembly seats in Bundelkhand in the most recent state elections. The Congress won nine seats, the Samajwadi Party won one, and the Bahujan Samaj Party won one.
Kharge named the Bhilai Steel Plant, the Indian Institute of Management and Indian Institute of Technology in Indore, the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in Bhopal, and the Chambal Ghati Project in response to Union Home Minister Amit Shah's recent request that Congress explain its 53 years of power in the state of Madhya Pradesh.—Inputs from Agencies