Pahalgam terror attack | Teach Pak a lesson, give clear timeline on Caste Census: Congress

New Delhi: Congress on Friday asked the Modi government to “teach Pakistan a lesson” to curb terrorism “decisively”, while accusing it of having “no clear strategy” on how to respond to the Pahalgam attack and questioning the “tone and timing” of the “suspicious” announcement on Caste Census.

The party’s aggressive pitch on both Pahalgam terror attack and Caste Census came at a meeting of the Congress Working Committee, the second in eight days, as it wants to corner the ruling BJP on national security plank and prevent it from harvesting political capital on social justice plank.

Congress sought to give an impression that the government’s post-Pahalgam actions were unimpressive with the party saying it did nothing even after eight days when people were expecting strong action against Pakistan. It also sought to hardsell its Telangana Caste Census, asking the government to adopt the “effective and inclusive” model.

While the two resolutions cleared by the CWC did not directly link the Caste Census with Pahalgam, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said in his opening remarks that they were “surprised and suspicious about the timing and tone used” during the announcement of Caste Census.

On Pahalgam, the CWC resolution insisted that it is “not the time for politics” in the face of an “unforgivable provocation” but said the “entire county awaits accountability, answers and justice” and the time has come for “demonstrating our collective will as a nation to teach Pakistan a lesson and curb terrorism decisively”.

It urged the government to “act with firmness, strategic clarity and international coordination to isolate and penalise Pakistan for its continued export of terror into our country”. Kharge said the government has presented “no clear strategy” while senior leader Charanjit Singh Channi, addressing media after the meeting, said the government’s “competency” is in question.

The resolution also demanded for time-bound accountability into the “serious lapses” in security and intelligence.

On Caste Census, the resolution specifically listed top leader Rahul Gandhi’s efforts that made a “stubborn government to bend”, as Kharge said, and demanded that the exercise should not be delayed further and that all parties should be taken into “full confidence” with a debate in Parliament.

“The government must immediately allocate the necessary funds and announce a clear timeline for every stage of the census, from the preparation of the questionnaire and methodology to the actual enumeration, classification, and eventual publication of the data,” it said, repeating the demand for breaching 50 per cent quota cap and reservation in private institutions.

Kharge charged that the government repeatedly delayed the Caste Census due to RSS’ “anti-reservation ideology” but it became “impossible” for Prime Minister Narendra Modi to delay it any further due to people starting aligning with Congress. He also said the BJP is trying to take credit for the decision by “falsely labelling” Congress as anti-caste census and it should be countered.

Asked about what Rahul spoke about Caste Census in the meeting, Congress General Secretary (Communications) Jairam Ramesh said the top leader told them that it was just a “first step” and “many questions” still remain unanswered. Ramesh said Rahul spoke about removing 50% quota cap and implementing quota in private institutions as well as Telangana model.