BJP today accused the Congress party of using the caste census in Karnataka as a means to pursue minority appeasement. Addressing a press conference in New Delhi, BJP Spokesperson Sambit Patra said, Congress has introduced 26 new castes into the equation, which could potentially undermine the rights of legitimate beneficiaries of reservations. He added that this move should be seen as a shift toward religious appeasement.

Mr Patra also accused the Congress of having a lack of consensus within the party on this issue. Earlier, the BJP accused the Congress party of making baseless allegations against a constitutional body such as the Election Commission. BJP Spokesperson Shehzad Poonawala said that Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi does not have any proof and is trying to confuse the public by creating an atmosphere of doubt.