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As his 'Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra' reached Bihar's Aurangabad on Thursday, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday came out in praise of the Supreme Court over its verdict striking down electoral bonds, promising to conduct a financial survey across the country if voted to power in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.
Addressing a public rally at Gandhi Maidan in Aurangabad on Thursday, Rahul said, "The OBCs, Dalits and backward classes, who constitute 73% of the country's population, hold little or sway over the corporate world, industries, media, business forums or high courts. This is why I put forth the idea of holding a nationwide caste census if we are elected, as it would ensure a wider representation of the neglected communities across spheres and forums. The exercise will be akin to a social X-ray. It will also give us a fair impression of where each community stands in terms of their population." Expanding on the financial survey, Rahul said the exercise will reveal if the national wealth is distributed equally among all communities. "After this (a caste survey), we will conduct a financial survey. Our country once used to be referred to as 'Sone Ki Chidiya' (golden bird). However, the bird is not in your hands anymore. Rather, it is with Adaniji now. It (the financial survey) will reveal if the national wealth is distributed evenly among all the communities. It will also tell us if all the wealth is in the reserve of a few industrialists. It will be a revolutionary exercise," the Congress MP said. The Congress and its allies in the INDIA bloc have been demanding to conduct a nationwide caste census, claiming that it will be conducive to policy-making for people with respect to where they stand in terms of the country's population. However, the BJP voiced its opposition to the exercise, saying it will sow seeds of division in the society. Meanwhile, the Congress MP also took a dig at a section of the media, stating, "If you switch on the television, all you see is Narendra Modiji. Hence, we tried establishing direct contact with the people by marching 4,000 kilometres. During the Bharat Jodo Yatra, a crowd raised the slogan--'Nafrat ke Bazar mein Mohabbat ki Dukan' (A shop dealing in love in a market hogged by hate). It came from the public, we did not raise it." "The BJP is spreading hatred in every corner of the country. They set Manipur on fire and sowed divisions among communities and religions. So, amid the hatred all around us, we launched the 'Bharat Jodo Yatra' in a bid to carry forward the refrain: 'Nafrat ke Bazar mein Mohabbat ki Dukan'," he added. "During the yatra, farmers and the poor told me that they have no hope of justice in the country even in the 21st century. Narendra Modiji has waived off the debt of some of his corporate friends, amounting to Rs 14 lakh crores. The country is run by 90 IAS officers. Tell me how many OBCs, Dalits and backward classes are among them (bureaucrats). They number only three and have little or no control over the decision-making process," Rahul claimed. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and fellow party seniors Jairam Ramesh and KC Venugopal were also present at the event. The Nyay Yatra arrived in Bihar days after Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who was at the forefront of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance, a coalition of opposition parties formed to take on the BJP at the Centre, dumped the Mahagathbandhan (grand alliance) and joined hands again with the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance. (ANI)
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