The Congress on Sunday questioned the silence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the issue of caste census and asked why BJP-ruled states were not conducting them to ensure social justice and rights.

The party's remarks come a day after the Ashok Gehlot-led Congress government issued an order for the conduct of a caste survey in Rajasthan.

Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said when the Bharat Jodo Yatra was in Rajasthan, Rahul Gandhi had met delegations of many communities and during that time OBC delegations had specifically raised the demand for a caste census. "Rahul Gandhi took their words very seriously. Now the Rajasthan government has decided to conduct a caste based survey in accordance with their sentiments. This is a welcome step," he said in a post in Hindi on X.

"This will especially help in making policies for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes. It is also very important to ensure social justice and giving rights to people as per their population," the Congress leader said while sharing the Rajasthan government's order on the caste survey.

"The question is why such initiatives are not being taken in any BJP ruled state and why is the Prime Minister silent on the issue of caste census," Ramesh also asked.

The Congress has been pushing for a caste census across the country and is making it a poll issue.

Rajasthan will be the second state in the country to conduct a caste survey after Bihar. The assembly polls in Rajasthan are due later this year and the election schedule is expected to be announced anytime soon.

A nationwide caste census is a key agenda of the opposition INDIA bloc, which believes it will help the alliance in the forthcoming elections in the Hindi heartland where caste politics plays a key role.

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