Congress leader V Hanumantha Rao urges Sonia Gandhi to prioritise caste-wise census issue at Chintan Shivir

New Delhi: Former Congress MP and party's senior leader V Hanumantha Rao on Saturday wrote a letter to the party's interim president Sonia Gandhi asking her to take up the caste wise census issue on priority at the Chintan Shivir being held in Udaipur.

In his letter, Rao endorsed Sonia Gandhi's observations that "extraordinary situations demand extraordinary actions".
He targetted the BJP-led Central government over the issue saying that it is turning out a deaf ear to all the requests and demands from various sections mainly from OBC to conduct the caste-wise census.

"In the year 2018, when Rajnath Singh was the Home Minister, he openly stated that the caste-wise census would be conducted. But his assurance is yet to see the day of the light. Even, the Prime Minister, Narendra Modi who hails from the OBC community also does not care about this important issue," read the letter.

He further said, "It is a well-known fact that the caste-wise census had been conducted as long back as in the year 1931. Till today there is no clarity on the caste-wise population of the country. I being the former convenor of the Parliamentary Forum of OBC MPs humbly suggest to your good self to kindly take up the caste-wise census issue on priority in Chintan Shivir to mount pressure on the NDA government."

"Our initiative in this regard will also send a positive message among the OBC population in the country, and the weaker sections will feel happy. Further, there is the possibility of OBC's vote bank tilting towards the Congress party," the letter added. (ANI)