Hyderabad, Apr 17 (PTI) Telangana Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka on Thursday alleged that the ED cases against Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi are part of a "conspiracy" to prevent a nationwide caste census.

Addressing a protest organised by the state Congress outside the ED office here over the chargesheet against Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, Vikramarka claimed that the BJP is worried about the call made during the recent AICC plenary in Ahmedabad for a caste survey similar to the one conducted in Telangana to be held across the country.

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The BJP is against the distribution of the country's resources to the common people following the caste survey, he claimed.

"A conspiracy is going on in the country to prevent a caste census. The ED cases are part of that conspiracy," he alleged.

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The cases against Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi are an attempt to intimidate people by sending a message that even the Gandhi-Nehru family, which gave prime ministers to the country, is not exempt from punitive action, he claimed.

Asserting that the Congress, the Nehru-Gandhi family, and the National Herald had contributed to the country's independence, Vikramarka said the Congress would not be "cowed down" by such cases.

AICC in-charge of party affairs in Telangana Meenakshi Natarajan, state Congress president B Mahesh Kumar Goud, several state ministers, and a number of Congress leaders and activists participated in the protest.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)