Cong to launch Bharat Jodo Samvidhan Abhiyan on Nov 26

Chandigarh: Senior Congress leader Ajay Singh Yadav on Wednesday said the party will launch the ‘Bharat Jodo Samvidhan Abhiyan’ next week, as he targeted the ruling BJP, alleging they were depriving everyone of their rights by not conducting the caste census.

The campaign will be launched at Delhi’s Talkotra Stadium on November 26 and continue till January 26, said Yadav, the chairman of AICC’s OBC wing. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and senior party leader Rahul Gandhi, along with other Congress leaders will participate in the event, he added while speaking to reporters here. Yadav said the ‘abhiyan’ will be conducted by Congress’ SC, ST, OBC and Minorities wings.

He alleged that the BJP dispensation at the Centre is extending benefit to a few industrialists, who are holding most of the country’s wealth and controlling assets such as mines, gas mines, and irrigation projects, among others.

Yadav said the Congress will make people aware of the BJP’s designs and raise the party’s demand for a caste census through the campaign, under which seminars will be held at various places. The former Haryana minister also accused the BJP-led Centre of depriving everyone of their rights by not conducting a caste census. Even the count of elephants and tigers is done and a forest survey is regularly conducted, but a caste census is not being done, he said.

“The Constitution talks of equality, then why is a caste census not being done for social justice and equality, we will impress that caste census should be held. This government wants to benefit only a handful of industrialists,” he alleged. Yadav highlighted that the ‘abhiyan’ will start on November 26, which marks the 75th anniversary of when Dr B R Ambedkar presented the final draft of the Constitution before the Constituent Assembly in 1950. Asked about the Congress failing to come to power in Haryana in the recently assembly polls, Yadav pointed out several issues, including the party fielding less number of OBC candidates.

“One thing I can say frankly, that the OBCs did not get as many tickets as they should have. Like in Karnal for instance, for the Kashyap Samaj, we did not give a ticket,” he said. He also claimed that the “Kumari Selja factor” had some impact “as the senior leader stayed away from campaigning for many days”. There was open projection by some leaders for the chief ministerial post, which was wrong, he said. “Distribution of tickets was also a factor. If tickets were given to Sharda Rathore and Chitra Sarwara in Ballabhgarh and Ambala, respectively, the party would have won these seats,” he said.