BJP national president and Union Health Minister JP Nadda and Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday hailed the Cabinet’s decision to include caste enumeration in the upcoming census, calling it historic.

Nadda said the Union Cabinet under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has taken a historic decision to include caste-based census in the census.

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He said this decision is extremely important from the point of view of bringing the economically, socially and educationally backward castes into the mainstream and restoring the dignity to the people who have been deprived of their rights for a long time.

Attacking the Congress, Nadda said, “For a long time, Congress has fulfilled its political interests by increasing animosity between castes and making them a means of vote bank. While in power, Congress always opposed caste census, the proof of which is that after independence, caste census has not been done in the country till date.”

“This unprecedented decision of the Modi government will be a milestone in the expansion of social harmony as well as in the upliftment of every class and in increasing the respect of the backward sections. I express my gratitude to Modi ji for this historic decision for the welfare of the entire society,” he wrote on X.

Welcoming the Cabinet’s decision, the Union Home Minister in a post on X wrote, “The Modi government, committed to social justice, has taken a historic decision today. It is a message of strong commitment towards social equality and rights of every section has been given by deciding to include caste census in the upcoming census.”

Referring to the previous Congress-led UPA government at the Centre, Shah claimed that the Congress and its allies opposed the caste census for decades when they were in power.

He said this decision will empower all economically and socially backward sections, promote inclusion and pave new avenues for progress for the deprived.