MHA notifies census in two phases, Congress says

India Gazette

8 hours ago

New Delhi [India], June 16 (ANI): The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) issued a gazette notification on Monday, declaring that the population census will be held in two phases.
According to the notification, the population census will be carried out in snow-bound non-synchronous areas of Ladakh, Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, and Uttarakhand from October 2026 and the rest of the country from March 2027.
'The reference date for the census shall be March 1, 2027, except for the Union territory of Ladakh and the snow-bound non-synchronous areas of the Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir and the states of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand,' the notification stated.
'Furthermore, the reference date for the Union Territory of Ladakh, snow-bound non-synchronous areas of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, and the states of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand will be October 1, 2026,' it added.
Congress General Secretary in-charge of communications, Jairam Ramesh, questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi over 'no mention' of caste census in the gazette notification, asking, 'Has the Prime Minister changed his mind?'
Jairam Ramesh also questioned the Union government over the budget allocation for the census, mentioning that it does not match the required amount.
'Today's gazette notification says only census will be done in late October of 2026 in Jammu and Kashmir, Uttarakhand and Himachal and the rest of the country it will be done in March 2027. It does not talk of the word caste census. So my question is, has the Prime Minister changed his mind again? Why is there no mention of the caste census?' the senior Congress leader said while speaking to ANI.
'The budget allocation will take atleast Rs 9000 crore to Rs 10,000 crores by the government's own admission to carry out a normal census. The total allocation for the census commissioner this year, 2025-26, is only Rs 575 crore, so where is the additional money?' he added.
Jairam Ramesh also accused PM Modi of opposing the caste census in the past and terming those demanding it as 'urban naxals.'
'The Prime Minister has consistently opposed the caste census. On 28 April 2024, he called all those wanting a caste census. Urban naxals. They filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court on 21st September 2021 saying that we are against a caste census and we have no intention of carrying out a caste census,' he said.
Congress leader Supriya Shrinate also pointed out that there is no mention of a caste census in the notification.
'Census is a decadal exercise and it has been delayed which is why people are not able to get the benefits of government schemes. This is a routine notification... There is no mention of the caste census here, a promise that the government said would be fulfilled on 30th April,' she said.
Shrinate said that the BJP is the last one to talk about the SC/ST and OBC, while referring to the past instances.
'BJP should be the last one talking about the SC/ST and OBC as they have historically been against the constitution... Pt. Nehru brought the first amendment to the constitution about reservation, but it was opposed by Dr Syama Prasad Mookerjee... RSS Chiefs opposed the reservations... This government filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court in September 2021 saying we are against the Caste Census,' Shrinate said.
On the other hand, BJP leaders welcomed the notification, highlighting that the cast census will be included in it.
Union Minister G Kishan Reddy called the decision a 'historic step,' adding that after caste census 'welfare activity, scheme, budget allocation, political reservation, everything will be worked upon in a proper manner.'
'The Government of India has taken a historic step... Today, the Government of India has issued the notification. There will also be a caste census; it is a very big decision. After this, be it welfare activity, scheme, budget allocation, political reservation, everything will be worked upon in a proper manner,' he said.
Haryana Minister Anil Vij said that the state government is 'fully prepared' for census. 'Our government is fully prepared for the census, from the states to the centre, the Prime Minister has already held a meeting for this. Our Chief Minister has also held a meeting regarding this. We are completely ready for the census,' he said.
Additionally, Odisha Minister Prithviraj Harichandan suggested that the census was postponed due to Covid pandemic and expressed happiness over the notification.
''The census was to be held in 2021, but it was postponed due to the Covid pandemic. Now, the government is ready for the census, and its notification has been issued... Everyone was waiting for the census process. It is a matter of happiness for everyone that the notification regarding the census has been issued, and this process will start now. After this, the plan for developing Odisha and developing India will be made smoothly,' Harichandan said.
Union Minister Sukanta Mazumdar also welcomed the decision, saying, 'We welcome this decision. Census will start from March 1, 2027. It will help the government in planning for the future.'
On April 30, Union Minister Ashiwni Vaishnaw announced that the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs has decided to include caste enumeration in the general census.
The INDIA bloc, which had been constantly demanding the caste census, welcomed the decision, pressing that it should be conducted in a 'transparent and unbiased' manner. (ANI)