Centre, Opposition 'war of credits' over cabinet's caste census decision

India Today

30-04-2025

The centre and the opposition locked horns over the government's decision to include the caste census in the next national census. While the government's supporters hailed it as a landmark move toward social justice, the opposition dubbed the decision a case of "better late than never" and reiterated its long-standing demand for such an exercise.Announcing the decision taken at a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs on Wednesday, Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw slammed the Congress and said the party always opposed the caste census. He also attacked other INDIA bloc parties, accusing them of using the caste-based population count only to gain political mileage.advertisementHe pointed out that in 2010, then-Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had promised to take the matter to the Cabinet, leading to the formation of a group of ministers. "Despite this, the Congress decided to conduct only a survey, known as SECC (Socio Economic Caste Census), instead of a full caste census," he said, adding that opposition parties have used the issue as a political tool.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah called the move a testament to the PM Modi government's dedication to social equity. "The Congress and its allies opposed the caste census for decades while in power and played politics over it while in the opposition," Amit Shah wrote on X. He said that the decision would "empower all economically and socially backward classes, promote inclusion, and pave new paths for the progress of the deprived".@narendramodi CCPA ,— Amit Shah (@AmitShah) April 30, 2025advertisementOther BJP leaders also weighed in to hail the decision. West Bengal BJP President Sukanta Majumdar welcomed the move and accused the Congress of opposing the policy. "We welcome this decision. From the beginning, the Congress was against the caste census, but for the last 5–10 years, they have started shouting for this caste-based census. The caste census will help to design the future policies of the government in favour of the downtrodden people," he said while speaking to ANI.WHAT OPPOSITION SAIDOn the other hand, the opposition slammed the ruling party, with Congress asserting that it had consistently demanded a caste-based census.Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge said that his party "had continuously raised the demand for a caste census, whose most vocal supporter was Rahul Gandhi"."I raised this issue several times in Parliament and also wrote a letter to the Prime Minister. The leaders of the INDIA alliance have also demanded caste census several times and this became an important issue in the Lok Sabha elections," he wrote on X.Kharge further wrote that PM Modi kept avoiding this policy and falsely accused the opposition of dividing society., @RahulGandhi Census— Mallikarjun Kharge (@kharge) April 30, 2025Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh described the move as "better late than never", stressing that the party had raised the demand in its April 9, 2025 resolution on social justice, passed at the AICC session in Ahmedabad. Ramesh also shared a letter dated April 16, 2023, in which Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge had written to Prime Minister Modi demanding that the decennial census include a comprehensive caste count.On April 16 2023 - that is, over two years back - Congress President Shri Mallikarjun Kharge had written this letter to the PM. Need anything more be said? pic.twitter.com/Fx1xQnRSIE— Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) April 30, 2025The Congress has stated in its Ahmedabad resolution that the constitutionally guaranteed foundation of social justice can only be strengthened through a nationwide caste census. The party has also reiterated its commitment to passing a central law for the SC/ST sub-plan and ensuring reservation in private educational institutions for OBCs, SCs, and STs.RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav, the main opposition in Bihar, which is a critical state in terms of caste, also reacted to the decision and expressed hope that the census would precede the upcoming delimitation exercise."It is a slap on the faces of those who blamed us for spreading casteism," Yadav said while speaking to reporters. "We hope the census will be done before the delimitation exercise. It is a slap on the faces of those who used to blame us for spreading casteism. Until we don't get scientific data, we won't be able to bring the backward classes into the mainstream. Naturally, the people from the BJP will go about taking credit for it. But Modi ji had rejected it many times. The actual fight for the caste census was fought by Lalu ji," ANI quoted Tejashwi Yadav.advertisementSamajwadi Party chief Akhiledsh Yadav also commented on the decision and said that this decision is the 100 per cent victory of the unity of 90 per cent PDA (Pichhde, Dalit and Alpsankhyak community) and that the BJP government has been forced to take this decision."This is a warning to the BJP government to keep its electoral rigging away from the caste census. Only an honest census will ensure that every caste gets its rights and entitlements in proportion to its population, which the dominant castes have been eyeing till now," Akhilesh Yadav wrote on X.
advertisementThe caste census has emerged as a focal point of political debate in recent years, with opposition parties making it a key electoral issue and states like Bihar, Telangana, and Karnataka conducting their own caste-based surveys.The national census, originally scheduled to begin in April 2020, was postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. With the Centre now including the caste census in the process, the political significance of the data and its ramifications for policy and electoral politics are expected to grow further in the coming months.(With agencies inputs)