Govt gave headline but where is deadline: Congress on Centre's caste census move

The Hindu

01-05-2025

The Congress on Thursday (May 1, 2025) attacked the government after its announcement of the decision to include caste enumeration in the forthcoming census, saying Prime Minister Narendra Modi is the "master of giving a headline without a deadline".
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Congress general secretary in-charge of communications Jairam Ramesh said many questions arise about the decision, especially on the intention of the government, and demanded that the census should be done as soon as possible.
Taking a swipe at the Prime Minister at a debriefing at the party's 24, Akbar Road office here, Mr. Ramesh said he is the "master at giving a headline without a deadline".
Asserting that the barrier of 50% cap on reservations should be removed, Mr. Ramesh asked what is stopping the Modi government from doing this.
The Congress demands that there should be a Constitutional Amendment and the 50 per cent cap on reservations be removed, he said, adding that the caste census would be meaningful only when this is done.
Mr. Ramesh cited a December 2019 Cabinet meeting press release, which stated that the Union Cabinet has approved the proposal for conducting the census of India in 2021 at the cost of ₹8,254 crore.
He pointed out that there was no mention of caste enumeration in that press release.
"Everyone knows that this census has not been done, and six years have passed. Surprisingly, the announcement was made by the government yesterday," he said.
Mr. Ramesh, however, urged the government to keep a roadmap for the caste census before the country.
In the 2025-26 Budget, only Rs 575 crore has been allocated to the office of the census commissioner, he pointed out.
"So what kind of census are they planning to get done in ₹575 crore. So what is the intention — is it just about giving a headline? What is their intention? Many questions arise on the intention," the Congress leader said.
"You should have gotten the census done in 2021. They cite the COVID pandemic but more than 50 countries did their census during Covid. The pandemic was not there in 2023, 2024, but they did not get it done," Ramesh said.
He said when the PM was giving a string of interviews to TV channels last year, he had called those who talk of caste census "urban naxals".
"Since when did he become an urban naxal? Since when did Home Minister Amit Shah become an urban naxal?" Ramesh said.
His remarks come a day after the Centre announced that caste enumeration will be part of the next population census, with the inclusion of caste details for the first time since independence.
Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi has said he welcomes the government's "sudden" decision to include caste enumeration in the forthcoming census after "11 years of opposing it" but asserted that the Centre should give a timeline for its implementation.
Crediting the sustained campaign run by the Congress for the government's announcement on the caste census, Mr. Gandhi has said his immediate suspicion is that this could go the women's bill way in terms of implementation and demanded a specific date for it.
The Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha said it is clear that the pressure the Congress put on the government for the caste census has worked.
Opposition parties, including the Congress, have been demanding a nationwide caste census, making it a major election issue. Some states like Bihar, Telangana and Karnataka have conducted such surveys.
Announcing the decision taken by the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs, Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said the census comes under the purview of the Centre, but some states have done caste enumeration in the name of surveys "non-transparently" which has created doubts in the society.