Caste census: Congress poses 3 questions to PM Modi over 'desperate U-turn' in policy

Claiming that Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a "desperate U-turn" on the caste census, the Congress on Sunday asked whether he would have the honesty to acknowledge that his government had officially changed its policy on the subject and commit to a timeline for such a survey.

Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said evidence abounds on Prime Minister Modi's "sudden, complete, and desperate U-turn" on the caste census. Citing examples, Ramesh said that in a TV interview on April 28, 2024, Modi branded all those demanding a caste census as "urban naxals." "On July 20, 2021, the Modi Government told Parliament that it had 'decided as a matter of policy not to enumerate caste-wise population other than SCs and STs in the Census'," the Congress leader said on X.

In its affidavit to the Supreme Court dated September 21, 2021, the Modi government clearly stated that "the exclusion of information regarding any other caste (outside of SCs and STs) from the purview of census (2021) is a conscious policy decision taken by the Central Government as explained in the preceding paragraphs", he said.

"In fact, the Modi Government explicitly urged the Supreme Court not to order a caste census for the OBCs - In such a situation, any direction from this Hon'ble Court to Census Department to include the enumeration of Socio-Economic data to the extent relating to BCCs of Rural India in the upcoming Census, 2021, as prayed, would tantamount to interfering with a policy decision as framed under Section 8 of the Act'," Ramesh said.

Posing three questions to the Prime Minister, Ramesh asked whether he would have the honesty to acknowledge that his government had officially changed its policy on the caste census over the last 11 years.

Would he explain to the people and Parliament the reasons for the change in the government's policy, Ramesh further asked.

He also questioned whether the PM would commit to a timeline for the caste census.

The Congress has said the government's caste census decision is in line with its pattern of first opposing every good scheme or policy, defaming it and then adopting the same policy in the face of public pressure and reality.

The opposition party has also claimed that Prime Minister Modi is the "master of giving a headline without a deadline" and called the government's caste census decision a "diversionary tactic" in the face of demands for taking strong action against Pakistan following the Pahalgam terror attack.

The Centre on Wednesday announced that caste enumeration would be part of the next population census, with the inclusion of caste details for the first time since Independence.

Opposition parties, including the Congress, had 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 had said the census came under the purview of the Centre, but some states had done caste enumeration in the name of surveys "non-transparently" which had created doubts in the society.

The Congress Working Committee (CWC) on Friday asked the government to announce a "clear timeline" for every stage of the caste survey and reiterated its demand for removing the "arbitrary ceiling" of 50 per cent on reservations for SCs, STs and OBCs.

The opposition party made the assertion in a resolution passed at the CWC meeting which was chaired by party president Mallikarjun Kharge and attended by former chiefs Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, and general secretaries Jairam Ramesh, KC Venugopal and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, among others.

"After 11 years of continued opposition and stubborn refusal, the Modi government has finally conceded to the demand of the Congress to collect population data caste wise as part of the next census. For 11 years, the prime minister attacked the Congress leadership for raising this demand," the CWC had said in the resolution.

No details, however, had been provided of what the government intends to do and no financial allocations have been made, it said.

The Congress has also demanded the removal of the 50 per cent cap on reservations and urgent implementation of Article 15(5) of the Constitution, which enables the provision of reservation for OBCs, Dalits and Adivasis in private educational institutions. PTI