Lucknow: BSP president Mayawati on Friday accused the BJP and Congress of politicising the issue of caste enumeration, claiming their anti-Bahujan character continues to deprive OBC communities of their due rights.

Reacting to the Centre’s decision to include caste enumeration in the upcoming census, she said Centre has taken the decision after a “long delay” and “much reluctance”.

In a series of posts on X, the former Uttar Pradesh chief minister said, “The BJP and Congress are now rushing to take credit for it, attempting to position themselves as champions of OBCs. However, their track record shows a pattern of oppression and exclusion of Bahujan communities.”

Mayawati further stated that if the intentions and policies of the BJP and Congress had truly been honest and inclusive, the OBC community would already have had a fair share in the country’s development.

“In that case, the mission of self-respect and dignity initiated by Babasaheb Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar would have seen real success,” she added.

Highlighting the “political motivations” behind the move, the BSP chief said the OBC community, like Dalits, has become politically aware due to the sustained struggle of Babasaheb Ambedkar and the BSP.

“Today, OBCs are largely conscious of their rights. The apparent support they receive from other parties is merely driven by electoral compulsions, not genuine concern. It is clear that the true welfare of OBCs lies only with the BSP,” she asserted. Mayawati said that the time has come for the Bahujan community to give real meaning to the slogan, ‘Vote hamara, raj tumhara nahi chalega’ (Our vote, your rule -this won’t work).

“It’s time for the marginalised to rise through a humane and result-oriented struggle. Continued negligence and tokenism by the BJP, Congress and other parties are dangerous, and they cannot be trusted for the welfare and upliftment of Dalits, OBCs, and the larger Bahujan society,” she said.

In a major decision, the government on Wednesday announced that caste enumeration will be included in the forthcoming census exercise in a “transparent” manner.

While making the announcement, the government slammed the opposition parties for using caste surveys as a “political tool”.

Opposition parties, including the Congress, have been demanding a nationwide caste census, making it a major election issue, and some states like Bihar, Telangana and Karnataka have already conducted such surveys.