Social justice my mission: Rahul Gandhi

Shubhadeep Choudhury

New Delhi, April 24

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday called social justice his “life mission” and said caste census would be the first task his party would take up, if voted to power.

Speaking at the “Samajik Nyay Sammelan” in the national capital, he said social justice was not a political issue for him. “It is my life mission. No power in the world can stop caste census. The census will be the first task we will take up when the Congress is elected to the office. This is my guarantee,” he said. “I am not interested in caste, I am interested in justice,” he added.

The proposed census would not be a caste survey alone, but it would include components to produce data to formulate policies to address the issue of ensuring socio-economic justice, he said.

“I have not yet suggested any action plan. I proposed caste census to identify the problem like an X-ray. Yet the national media and PM Modi have started accusing me of dividing people and the country. I don’t think anybody should have any objection to an X-ray,” he said, referring to Modi’s charge that the Congress wanted redistribution of wealth to pamper its vote bank.

He said the backwards, the Dalits, the Adivasis and the minorities together constituted about “90 per cent” of the country’s population. But their representation in various sectors was negligible.

India wants to be a superpower. That goal would remain elusive without engaging “90 per cent” population of the country, he said.