New Delhi, May 27: With the Union Cabinet deciding to set up a Group of Ministers (GoM) to look into demands for conducting a caste-based census, the BJP on Wednesday said the move reflected divisions within the government and the ruling party and termed it an attempt to put the issue in the cold storage.
Though the BJP officially resented the government’s move, a section of the party felt it was a blessing in disguise for the main opposition which is divided on the issue. While the BJP is speaking in different voices, the RSS added to its discomfiture earlier this week by declaring that it was firmly opposed to the proposal.
Sources said the RSS top brass discussed the issue and decided to make public its views against the proposal ostensibly to give a signal to the BJP. Making clear the outfit’s stand in Nagpur on Sunday, RSS general secretary Bhaiyyaji Joshi pointed out that the RSS had always been in favour of a casteless society.
Several BJP leaders — notably Gopinath Munde — had supported the idea of a caste-based census while party chief Nitin Gadkari opposed the move. BJP spokesperson Rajiv Pratap Rudy denied there were differences in the BJP and said it supported the proposal. “This (the GoM) is an attempt to put the issue in the cold storage,” he said.
—-Agencies