Modi govt takes U-turn on caste census; Rahul Gandhi's pressure at work?

The BJP now says that while Indian National Congress governments have always opposed a caste census, evident in the fact that caste was not included in all the census operations conducted since independence, the BJP government at the centre will now include caste "enumeration" in the Census. 

The BJP claims this will strengthen the social and economic structure of our society while the nation continues to progress. The decision was taken in the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs under Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 30 April.

The BJP says the move demonstrates that its government is committed to the values and interests of our society and country.

What happens to the 'batenge to katenge' slogan?

The three-word slogan, first used by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath as a war cry for Hindus to unite, as a star campaigner before the Maharashtra and Jharkhand elections, attacking Uddhav Thackeray's Shiv Sena, 
Sharad Pawar's NCP and Hemant Soren's JMM.

The Uttar Pradesh chief minister used this to specifically attack Congress, accusing it of dividing the country by caste.

Just recently, BJP's newly acquired Muslim face, Nazia Elahi Khan, was booked for criticising the Congress and accusing Rahul Gandhi of promoting a "divisive" ideology through a caste census at an event titled Batenge to Katenge, which translates to "will get slaughtered if divided".

Is this not an ideological U-turn?

But Congress didn't do it, BJP points out

Refusing to admit that the BJP has finally yielded under Gandhi's pressure, the party recalls that In 2010, then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh 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, the BJP reminds. Most of the political parties had recommended a caste census.

Despite this, the BJP says, the Congress government decided to conduct only a survey instead of a caste census. That survey is known as SECC.

The BJP sees the above as Congress and its allies using a prop of caste only as a political tool. As per Article 246 of the Constitution of India, the BJP says, the subject of census is listed at 69 in the Union List in the Seventh Schedule. According to the constitution, the census exercise is a union subject.

Some states have conducted surveys to enumerate castes. Some states have done this well, while some others have conducted such surveys purely from a political angle in a non-transparent way. Such surveys, the BJP says, have created doubts in society.