UP: Akhilesh Yadav promises caste census, Maharaja Suheldev statue at Gomti Riverfront if SP wins

Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) [India], May 2 (ANI): Samajwadi Party (SP) president Akhilesh Yadav on Friday reiterated his party’s commitment to conducting a caste census if voted to power, asserting that it was crucial for ensuring social justice and securing rights for marginalised communities.

"The PDA (Pichhda, Dalit, Alpsankhyak) community and 90 per cent of the country's population are in favour of this census. This is the first step after which we will get our rights, which is the vision of Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar," Yadav said while addressing a press conference in Lucknow.

In a separate announcement, Yadav promised to install a grand statue of Maharaja Suheldev at the Gomti Riverfront in Lucknow if the Samajwadi Party forms the government in Uttar Pradesh.

"After the formation of Samajwadi Party government, we will install a big statue of Maharaja Suheldev at the Gomti River front. His weapon will be made of Ashtadhatu," he said. 

Maharaja Suheldev ruled Shravasti and famously defeated Ghazi Sayyid Salar Masud, the nephew of Mahmud of Ghazni, in 1034 at the Battle of Bahraich.  

Yadav further expressed hope for the "complete support of the Maharaja Suheldev community" in the 2027 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections. "We hope that the complete support of Maharaja Suheldev community in 2027 UP Assembly elections," Yadav said in a press conference. 

Earlier, the SP chief welcomed the government's decision to conduct a caste census, calling it a significant step towards establishing social justice. According to Yadav, this move is a major victory for the PDA communities and a result of collective pressure from various groups.

Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw after a Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs (CCPA) meeting said that the move affirms the Centre's Constitutional role and aims for transparency.

"Caste was not included in all the census operations conducted since Independence. In 2010, then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had assured Lok Sabha that the matter of caste census would be considered in the Cabinet. A group of ministers was formed to consider this subject. Most political parties recommended a caste census. Despite this, the Congress government decided to conduct only a survey of caste instead of a census. That survey is known as SECC," Vaishnaw said.

He said the Congress and its INDI Alliance partners "have only used the caste census as a political tool."

"As per Article 246 of the Constitution of India, the subject census is listed at 69 in the Union list in Schedule VII. According to the Constitution of India, census is a Union subject," Vaishnaw added. (ANI)