The Congress on Wednesday welcomed the decision to confer Bharat Ratna to former Bihar chief minister Karpoori Thakur and said it reflects the Narendra Modi government's desperation and hypocrisy. Thakur was a champion of social justice and conducting a nationwide caste census would be an appropriate tribute to him, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said. "Even though it reflects the Modi Govt's desperation and hypocrisy, the Indian National Congress welcomes the posthumously awarded Bharat Ratna to the champion of social justice Jannayak Karpoori Thakurji," Ramesh said in a post on X. "'Bhagidari Nyay' is one of the five pillars of the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra. It will need a nation-wide caste census as a starting point. "Rahul Gandhi has been consistently advocating this but the Modi Government has all along refused to release the results of the Socio Economic Caste Census 2011 and also refused to commit itself to conduct an updated nation-wide caste census which will be the