"100% victory of 90% PDA people": SP Chief Akhilesh Yadav hails caste census decision

Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) [India], May 1 (ANI): Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Thursday 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 (Pichhda, Dalit, Alpsankhyak) and a result of collective pressure from various groups.
Yadav stated that the decision to conduct a caste census is a 100% victory for the 90% PDA people. He emphasised that the BJP government was forced to take this decision due to the combined pressure from all sections of society.
Addressing a press conference, Yadav said, "The government has just taken a decision. We are happy that a step has been taken towards establishing social justice. The decision of caste census is a 100% victory of 90% PDA people. Due to the combined pressure from all of us, the BJP government has been forced to take this decision. This is an important step in the victory of PDA in the fight for social justice..."
This comes after the Centre's decision to include caste in the forthcoming census. Information and Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw announced the decision on April 30 following the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs meeting.
He said the move falls under the central government's authority and will be executed transparently. "Caste enumeration should be included in the forthcoming census," Vaishnaw stated.
Vaishnaw also criticised previous Congress-led governments for avoiding a caste census and accused them of using the issue for political gain. He added that the Modi-led government's decision aligns with constitutional principles and will help strengthen the social and economic fabric.
Meanwhile, Yadav warned the BJP government against influencing the caste census exercise. "This is a warning to the BJP government, we have seen your election rigging time and again -- whether in Muzaffarnagar, Moradabad, Rampur, Kareli, the Faizabad seat, the Ayodhya Milkipur seat -- again and again, even when caught on CCTV, we and the public have witnessed your electoral fraud."
He added, "Therefore, this is a warning to the BJP government to keep your election fraud away from the caste census, because any manipulation in the count can happen."
Yadav stressed the need for transparency. "Only an honest census will ensure that every caste gets its rightful share and rights in proportion to its population -- rights that until now have been suppressed by the dominance of the privileged."
He framed the development as a shift in national politics. "This is the first stage of a positive democratic movement for rights and the final stage of the BJP's negative politics. The end of the BJP's dominant mindset is inevitable."
Yadav cautioned against undermining constitutional principles. "A personal or self-made constitution cannot function in place of the Constitution for long. The personal whims of individuals cannot override the Constitution for very long."
Ashwini Vaishnaw after a Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs (CCPA) meeting said the move affirms the Centre's constitutional role and aim for transparency.
"Caste was not included in all the census operations conducted since independence. In 2010, the then Prime Minister Manmohan Singhji had assured the 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 the 7th schedule. According to the Constitution of India, census is a Union subject," Vaishnaw added. (ANI)