VARANASI, Nov. 24 -- Alleging that the Congress stopped the caste census in 1961 despite recommendations by the Kaka Kalelkar Commission, BJP OBC Morcha national president K Laxman on Sunday said that the Narendra Modi-led government has taken a decisive and bold decision to include caste-based data in the upcoming census. This is a historic step for the OBC community and the biggest reform since independence, he added. Laxman, a Rajya Sabha MP, addressed a press conference at the Circuit House here on Sunday and said that for the first time since India's independence, caste was being included in the nationwide census, set to take place in 2026. "This was a decades-old demand of the OBC community. Prime Minister Modi has taken a historic and bold decision towards social justice by fulfilling a decades-old demand of the OBC community," he noted. Laxman further stated that for the first time in 94 years, the country will have official caste-based data. This will provide a strong foundation for OBC welfare schemes. "Scientific re-evaluation of reservations and policies will be possible. Social justice and equality of opportunity will be ensured." Dr. K. Laxman, while attacking Rahul Gandhi and the Congress, said that it was the Congress that stopped the caste census. The Kaka Kalelkar Commission, formed in 1953, had proposed the OBC census and reservation for the first time. "Jawaharlal Nehru rejected the recommendations of the commission. He did not even allow a discussion on it in the Parliament," he added. He said that during the British period, caste census was conducted every 10 years. "The last caste-based census was conducted in 1931. After independence, the Congress government amended the Census Act and removed the caste column." He claimed that both Nehru and Indira Gandhi had opposed OBC reservation. "Nehru opposed caste-based reservation by writing a letter to all chief ministers in 1961. Indira Gandhi also shelved the Mandal Commission for years. Rahul Gandhi says that if Modi comes to power again, then he will abolish the reservation. The reality is that it was Congress that blocked OBC rights for 55 years." htc...