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With Prime Minister Narendra Modi having virtually taken the wind out the Congress' sail with the government announcing that it had decided to include caste data in the upcoming Census exercise, the party is now faced with a significant challenge to "own the narrative" on caste census.

The issue has been the centerpiece of the Congress' campaign for social justice as it sought to woo back Other Backward Classes (OBCs) who had drifted away from the party in the post-Mandal era and later aligned with the BJP under Modi's leadership.

In a bid to calibrate its response and discuss the way ahead for the party in wake of the Modi government's surprise decision, the Congress is planning a meeting of its Working Committee on Friday to discuss the government’s announcement and devise a strategy on how it can still own the narrative around social justice in wake of the development.

"We want to discuss the road ahead for the party after the government’s announcement. Caste census has been a long-standing demand of the Congress, which is why the government has made this announcement. But we want answers from the government regarding the timeline, budget, and the 50% cap on reservation," The Indian Express quoted a highly placed source in the Congress as saying.

Soon after Union minister Ashwini Vaishnaw announced the decision of the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs on including caste data in the upcoming, Census Congress MP and Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi called a press conference where he sought to claim credit for pressuring the government to arrive at this decision an. The exercise was “our vision” and is the “first step” towards a “new development paradigm”, he added.

"We had said in Parliament that we will get the caste census done. And we also said 50% cap on reservation, the artificial wall, will be broken. What happened that, suddenly, Narendra Modi ji, who used to say that there are just four castes, announced the caste census? We fully support this. But we want a timeline and when it will be done. This is the first step. Telangana has become a model for the caste census," he said.

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