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Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had turned down Janata Dal-United's demand for a resolution on caste census at INDIA bloc meetings under pressure from West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee, Union Minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh Lalan claimed on Sunday.
Singh was JD-U president when the party was part of the INDIA bloc and used to accompany Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar to the coalition's meetings.
"Rahul Gandhi is simply shedding crocodile tears over the caste census issue... He is trying to confuse people. When the Bihar government conducted a caste-based survey in the state, we were part of the INDIA bloc, and we kept asking him to pass a resolution on this in the coalition's meeting. Two meetings were held, but Rahul Gandhi had turned down our request under pressure from West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee," he claimed.
Singh made the claim in response to journalists asking him about Gandhi's recent statement on the issue.
"When Nitish Kumar got the caste survey done in Bihar, Rahul Gandhi never praised him for this," he added.
Addressing the "Samvidhan Samman Sammelan" in Prayagraj on Saturday, Gandhi had said, "90 percent of people are sitting out of the system. They have skills, and knowledge but no connections (with the system). That is why we have raised the demand for a caste census."