INDORE: Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav on Saturday said Congress leader Rahul Gandhi should apologise to the state’s youth for the alleged “injustice” committed during previous Congress governments before addressing a student interaction programme in Indore later this month.
Gandhi, the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, is scheduled to address the ‘Chhatron Ki Goonj’ programme in Indore on September 19.
Welcoming Gandhi’s visit, Yadav told reporters that the Congress leader should first apologise to the youth of Madhya Pradesh for the alleged failures of earlier Congress governments.
Yadav claimed that unemployment remained high and various sections, including youth, farmers and women, continued to face economic hardship during the Congress government’s tenure in the state from 1956 to 2003.
He said Madhya Pradesh’s per capita income was around Rs 11,700 during the earlier period, while it had risen to Rs 1.67 lakh under the present BJP government.
The student interaction programme was initially scheduled for September 12 but was postponed by the Congress to September 19. The party had alleged that the state government did not grant permission to hold the event at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Indore. The programme will now be organised at another venue.
Meanwhile, Congress spokesperson Ragini Nayak accused the state government of using “saam, daam, dand, bhed” to obstruct the proposed programme.
She said such alleged attempts would not deter students and young people, whom she claimed were unhappy with the policies and approach of the BJP government.
Nayak also questioned the proposed caste enumeration to be undertaken as part of the 2027 Census. She said while notified caste lists would be used for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, an open-ended system was proposed for recording castes among Other Backward Classes and general categories.
The Congress leader claimed this could result in the same caste being recorded under different names, spellings or sub-castes, potentially affecting the accuracy of the data.
She demanded that state-wise verified “drop-down” lists containing predefined caste options be incorporated into the software for recording castes across SC, ST, OBC and general categories during India’s first fully digital Census.
Nayak alleged that the Centre was deliberately avoiding conducting the caste enumeration in a proper manner.