In a fiery counter to the Congress’s endorsement of the Centre’s caste census decision, Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has invoked former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru’s stance, alleging that the Congress has long opposed the idea of caste-based enumeration.

Pradhan’s statement came a day after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi welcomed the government’s move, sparking a fresh political tug-of-war over who truly deserves credit.

“Nehru was opposed to a caste-based census. He called it anti-progress,” Pradhan asserted, accusing the Congress of having historically resisted efforts to empower the marginalised.

“Yesterday, once again, the people of the country saw through the hollow claims,” he said. “This was not a sudden decision. The government has always believed in ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas’. After a long gap, the OBC community is finally getting its rightful place – this is what the government has intended.”

Pradhan pointed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership and said the Home Ministry had been preparing for the caste enumeration for nearly eight months. “From the first census till now, there had never been a caste-based enumeration. But this time, there will be one,” he declared.

Slamming the Congress for its recent remarks, Pradhan said, “Some people seemed rattled yesterday. They said – ‘The government may be theirs, but the system is ours.’ But in 1951, whose government and system was it? Wasn’t it Jawaharlal Nehru back then?”

He further alleged, “Congress has always been against tribals, the deprived, OBCs, and the backward communities.”