Cong promises caste census, Ravidas varsity in MP

The Congress will conduct a caste census in Madhya Pradesh after winning the assembly polls and establish a university in the name of Sant Ravidas, said party president Mallikarjun Kharge, accusing the regime at the Centre of wishing to change the Constitution.

He was addressing a public rally in Sagar in MP’s impoverished Bundelkhand region on Tuesday.

Assembly elections are expected to be held in the BJP-ruled state at the end of the year.

“Some people are trying to change the Constitution. This is not possible because 140 crore people of the country are in support of the protection of the Constitution,” Kharge said remembering Dr BR Ambedkar, who was born in MP’s Mhow.

Kharge criticised the ruling BJP for remembering Sant Ravidas, a revered figure for Scheduled Castes, during elections.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently laid the foundation of a Rs 100 crore memorial-cum-temple of Sant Ravidas in Sagar district.

As per the 2011 Census, the population of Dalits in MP was 1.13 crore.

“Modi ji has been in power for the last nine years while Chouhan (Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan) has ruled the state for the last 18 years. They remembered Ravidas only at the time of the polls”, Kharge said.

Citing a newspaper report, Kharge claimed that the BJP demolished a temple of Sant Ravidas in Delhi.

He announced that the Congress will set up a university in the name of Sant Ravidas in Sagar district if voted to power in Madhya Pradesh.

Kharge also said that Congress will conduct a caste-based census in MP after returning to power.

With inputs from News18

The post Cong promises caste census, Ravidas varsity in MP first appeared on Latest India news, analysis and reports on IPA Newspack.