Patna, May 5 (Reporter) Congress on Monday alleged that BJP had been opposing caste census since long and the party was now using it as a political tool. All India Congress Committee(AICC) General Secretary Randeep Surjewala told media persons here that the DNA of BJP was against caste census. When Congress led UPA government headed by Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh had decided to conduct caste census alongwith general census, top RSS functionary Bhaiya Ji Joshi had opposed it and his statement was widely covered by media, he added. "When caste census report was submitted on July 3, 2015, an expert committee was constituted on July 16, headed by Deputy Chairman of Niti Aayog Arvind Panagariya but it was an attempt by Narendra Modi government to put it in cold storage which became clear in 2021 in top Court of the country ", the Congress leader said. Surjewala added that during hearing of related case in the Apex Court , Narendra Modi government had filed an affidavit in Supreme Court in 2021, stating that no member of the committee was named, hence no meeting of the committee was held in last six years and no follow-up action was taken in this connection. Sequence of the event on the issue of caste census had made it amply clear that Narendra Modi government was against it , he added. Similarly, Narendra Modi government had taken stand against caste census during caste census conducted in Bihar and also on the issue of giving reservation to backwards in Panchayat Raj institutions in Maharashtra, the AICC General Secretary pointed out. Surjewala said that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had been struggling hard for caste census in the country for the last eleven years and sensing the change in social order, Narendra Modi government bowed before backwards and deprived by taking decision to go for national level caste census. Doubt was still there whether Narendra Modi government would really conduct the national level caste census, he felt. For Congress, caste census was a mode for social change giving due respect and representation in all spheres, to backwards and deprived as per their population while for BJP, it was only a political tool, he stressed. The Congress leader said that Narendra Modi government should release complete schedule of caste census. People had understood the true face of BJP on the issue of caste census, he added...////...