Jhalod, Gujarat: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi alleged on Thursday that Prime Minister Narendra Modi resisted the call for a nationwide caste census at the request of his "industrialist friends."
Speaking at a gathering at Jhalod town in tribal-dominated Dahod district after his `Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra' entered Gujarat, he also hit out at the BJP-led Union government over the Agniveer scheme of recruitment in the Armed Forces.
"When I demanded a caste survey, the PM said there are no castes in India. But he himself had said many times in the past that he is an OBC. When I demanded a caste survey, he said there is no caste. He refused to conduct a caste survey at the behest of his industrialist friends," the Congress leader alleged.
Talking about the Agniveer scheme, he claimed that a soldier recruited under the scheme will not give his best, because "he knows that the Army will not take care of his family if he gets martyred." "The Agniveer scheme has been brought by the Centre to divert the funds meant for soldiers' training, pension and purchasing arms. And all these contracts are being given to only one person. (Industrialist) Adani will now make rifles and ammunition and our Army will buy them from him," he claimed.
Gandhi will stay overnight at a village near Jhalod before resuming his yatra on Friday, a Congress functionary said.
The yatra entered Gujarat from Rajasthan around 4.45 pm. The Congress leader was welcomed by local leaders and workers of his party as well as supporters of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) which has entered into a tie-up with the Congress for the Lok Sabha elections.
The 6,700-km 'Manipur to Mumbai' yatra will pass through seven districts of Gujarat having a sizable tribal population before proceeding to Maharashtra.
Ahead of the yatra's entry in Gujarat, the state Congress suffered setbacks in the form of the exit of a few leaders including party stalwart Arjun Modhwadia who joined the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
With PTI inputs