Hyderabad: Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Friday said that party leaders should aggressively communicate the successful conduct of the caste survey in Telangana by the Congress govt to the people in their respective states.The Congress’ promise of a nation-wide caste census was not to win elections but to uplift SCs, STs, BCs, minorities and downtrodden sections, including those from the forward castes, he said.Rahul Gandhi made the remarks after Telangana Congress president B Mahesh Kumar Goud explained the process of the caste census at a workshop organised by the AICC for party’s 140 spokespersons from various states and media panellists. Rahul told them not to fall into the trap of the BJP and present facts in debates with confidence and aggression instead of being defensive.He also pointed out that no matter what the BJP tries to project, the Centre’s announcement of conducting a caste census was done under pressure from the Congress. Ultimately, the Congress will take credit if the Centre goes for a caste census along with the general census, he said. The caste survey of Telangana will stand as a role model for the central govt, and this should be communicated to the people, he said. In a video message to party leaders, AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge said it was the responsibility of the Congress leaders to give direction to this discussion and assert that ‘Jitni Aabadi Utna Haq’ is not just a slogan but a national resolution. Though the issue of the caste census is not new, the Congress has constantly raised it in its election manifestos, in Parliament, on the streets, and on almost every platform to achieve social justice, he said. Kharge also referred to his letter to the Prime Minister in April 2023, demanding that a caste census be done.Earlier, TPCC chief Mahesh Goud said the caste survey was conducted in Telangana with inspiration from Rahul Gandhi, who had promised the people of the state that it will be done if Congress was elected. “The Backward Classes trusted Rahul Gandhi’s word and voted in large numbers to bring our party to power. Now, our caste survey has become a role model and a topic of discussion in the country,” he said.The Congress govt also passed two bills, extending 42% reservations to BCs in education and govt employment. The govt is also implementing SC categorisation, with Telangana being the first in the country in both cases, he said. “We want the central govt to also adopt Telangana’s transparent model. We are ready to cooperate in this process,” he said.