Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday (May 25, 2025) said the caste enumeration announced as part of the decennial census was a step towards his government’s model of bringing the marginalised and those left behind in every field into the mainstream of development
Addressing a conclave of Chief Ministers and Deputy Chief Ministers belonging to the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), Mr. Modi said the success of Operation Sindoor was a reaffirmation of the achievements the country had made in its push towards self-reliance, underscoring the accuracy and precision of indigenous defence technology.
Sources present at the meeting said Mr. Modi asked leaders to avoid the tendency to speak out of turn, a likely reference to more than one BJP leader making contentious remarks about the Pahalgam terror attack and Operation Sindoor. In the past few days, Madhya Pradesh Minister Vijay Shah’s remarks on Colonel Sofiya Qureshi and Haryana BJP MP Ram Chandra Jangra’s comment on the victims of the Pahalgam attack have drawn severe criticism.
The conclave is a regular event held over the years, where Chief Ministers make presentations of best practices being followed by their governments for replication in other NDA-ruled States.
Two resolutions were passed at the meeting — one praising the Indian armed forces and the leadership of the Prime Minister over Operation Sindoor and another on the decision to undertake a caste census by the Modi government.
The resolution on Operation Sindoor was moved by Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma and seconded by Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, while the resolution on caste census was moved by Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini and seconded by Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan.
Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Shinde, who is also the leader of BJP ally Shiv Sena, said, “The world needs to hear India’s resolve (through Operation Sindoor) loud and clear – whoever dares to provoke India will be wiped out. The strength of our defence forces is the impenetrable shield protecting the nation.”
NDA does not believe in caste politics: Nadda
Briefing media after the meeting, BJP president J.P. Nadda said that through the resolution on the caste census, it was being clarified that the NDA “does not believe in caste politics but caste enumeration will help those left behind in different fields to develop”.
“Enumerating caste was always part of our political imagination and it was an NDA government, under Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, which had proposed to do this first,” Mr. Nadda said.
The third term of the Narendra Modi government will be completing a year on June 4, with the government also completing 11 years with Mr. Modi at the helm, which will be marked on June 9. A committee will be formed to find ways to mark that occasion. “We will on June 25 also be marking the 50th anniversary of the imposition of Emergency in India, and will on this occasion again see who worked to suspend democratic rights in the country and who defended these values,” said Mr. Nadda.
He added that there were also discussions at the conclave over fighting Left Wing Extremism (LWE), wherein Union Home Minister Amit Shah briefed the meeting on strategies adopted to fight LWE, while Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai briefed on the steps being taken in that direction, and State Home Minister Vijay Sharma briefed on rehabilitation and development work in LWE-affected areas.
Among those who attended the meeting were Union Ministers Rajnath Singh, Amit Shah and Mr. Nadda, apart from 20 Chief Ministers and 18 Deputy Chief Ministers. Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu gave the meeting a miss over other commitments, sources said.
Around seven best practices were discussed during the meeting, including the “Bastar Olympics” that is held in Chhattisgarh to promote traditional sports and culture of that area, the conception and implementation of a Uniform Civil Code in Uttarakhand, and the campaign against child marriage in Assam by Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma. A study tour organised by the BJP to study the campaign against child marriage in Assam will also be undertaken by other States.
