Mon May 05 23:40:01 UTC 2025: **Congress Accuses BJP of Spreading Caste and Religious Venom in Maharashtra**

PARBHANI, MAHARASHTRA—May 6, 2025—The Indian National Congress launched a scathing attack on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), accusing them of spreading “venom” in the name of caste and religion and creating divisions within society. The accusations were made during the party’s ‘Samvidhan Bachao’ (Save the Constitution) yatra in Parbhani, Maharashtra.

Senior Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala, AICC representative for Maharashtra, highlighted the alleged inaction of the state government regarding the deaths of Somanath Suryawanshi and Vijay Wakode. Suryawanshi, arrested following violence related to the desecration of a Constitution replica, died in police custody. Wakode, a protest leader, suffered a fatal heart attack amidst the unrest. Chennithala criticized Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis for his silence on the matter.

Maharashtra Congress President Harshvardhan Sapkal linked the BJP’s alleged incitement of caste conflicts to the demand for a caste census, claiming the Congress’s stance forced the Modi government to concede. He further stated that a caste census is crucial for resolving the Maratha reservation issue and potentially increasing reservations for Other Backward Classes (OBCs). Sapkal also criticized the government’s focus on the Shaktipeeth Expressway while ignoring issues like farmer suicides and youth unemployment.

Legislative Party leader Vijay Wadettiwar framed the yatra as an attempt to heal the divisions created by the BJP since 2014. He accused the BJP of deliberately sowing seeds of casteism and communalism and condemned BJP state chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule’s call for dismantling the Congress.

Congress leader Chandrakant Handore echoed these sentiments, alleging that the BJP, RSS, and Bajrang Dal are creating anarchy and diverting attention from critical issues through manufactured caste and religious conflicts. He accused the BJP of attempting to replace the Indian Constitution with the Manusmriti. The Congress leaders vowed to fight against these alleged actions and maintain unity within the Bahujan community.

Read More