Telangana Deputy CM alleges plot behind ED cases against Sonia, Rahul to stop caste census

Telangana Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka on Thursday alleged that the ED cases against Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi are part of a "conspiracy" to prevent a nationwide caste census.

Addressing a protest organised by the state Congress outside the ED office here over the chargesheet against Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, Vikramarka claimed that the BJP is worried about the call made during the recent AICC plenary in Ahmedabad for a caste survey similar to the one conducted in Telangana to be held across the country.

The BJP is against the distribution of the country’s resources to the common people following the caste survey, he claimed.

"A conspiracy is going on in the country to prevent a caste census. The ED cases are part of that conspiracy," he alleged.

The cases against Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi are an attempt to intimidate people by sending a message that even the Gandhi-Nehru family, which gave prime ministers to the country, is not exempt from punitive action, he claimed.

Asserting that the Congress, the Nehru-Gandhi family, and the National Herald had contributed to the country’s independence, Vikramarka said the Congress would not be "cowed down" by such cases.

AICC in-charge of party affairs in Telangana Meenakshi Natarajan, state Congress president B Mahesh Kumar Goud, several state ministers, and a number of Congress leaders and activists participated in the protest.