The Congress party has many organisational problems, said Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen while noting that the Opposition in India has lost much of its power due to disunity. He stated that the INDIA bloc has failed to gain much traction as its important allies JD(U) and RLD have walked out.
He asserted that India needs greater empowerment for the underprivileged through better education, healthcare, and gender equity. “A caste census might be an exercise to consider. There is a need to work harder to enhance the nation’s democratic nature,” Sen told a National media firm.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has said that the party will conduct a countrywide caste census if voted to power. The Mahagathbandhan government, of which JD(U), RJD and Congress and Left parties were a part, implemented a caste census in Bihar last year.
“The Opposition in India lost a lot of its power due to its disunity. Unity would have given it much more strength. Congress has many organisational problems that need remedying. The party’s great past should inspire it,” he said.
He was also critical of the BJP-led NDA government over its economic policies, claiming that widespread illiteracy and extraordinary gender inequality make it difficult for the poor in India to progress.
“India’s ruling classes tend to look after the interests of the rich. Widespread illiteracy, commonly shared ill health, and extraordinary gender inequality make it difficult for the Indian poor to progress,” he said.
Speaking about the Opposition’s claim that the BJP might change the Indian Constitution if it returns to power, Sen said changing the country’s Constitution would not serve any purpose except aligning it with the government’s “single-religion focus”.
“Changing the Indian Constitution may align it more with the government’s class priority and its single-religion focus, but it will not benefit the common people of India,” he said as quoted by media.
“India is a secular country with a secular Constitution, but while focusing only on Hindu identity may be easy for a majority of Hindus, this betrays India’s secular roots and multicultural nature,” he added.
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