Centre steals Congress caste census thunder; Rahul Gandhi to respond today
Ashwini Vaishnaw said the census comes under the purview of the Centre, but some states have done caste enumeration in the name of surveys.
As Rahul Gandhi promises a nationwide caste census and higher reservation limits if the Congress comes to power, the Centre on Wednesday made a significant move by announcing that caste enumeration will be included in the upcoming census exercise in a “transparent” manner.
Announcing the decisions 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.
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Rahul Gandhi, who is also the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, will address a press briefing at 7pm on Wednesday in what could be seen as the Congress's response to the Centre's caste census move.
Alleging that the states ruled by opposition parties have conducted caste surveys for political reasons, Ashwini Vaishnaw said the Narendra Modi government is resolved to transparently include caste enumeration in the forthcoming pan-India census exercise.
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The census exercise was to commence in April 2020 but got delayed due to the Covid pandemic.
Vaishnaw alleged that Congress governments “have always opposed caste census”.
“Caste was not included in all the census operations conducted since independence. In 2010, the then Prime Minister Manmohan Singhji had assured the Lok Sabha that the matter of caste census should be considered in the cabinet. A group of ministers was formed to consider this subject. Most political parties recommended a caste census. Despite this, the Congress government decided to conduct only a caste survey instead of a census. That survey is known as SECC,” Vaishnaw said.
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"It is well understood that the Congress and its INDI alliance partners have only used the caste census as a political tool. As per Article 246 of the Constitution of India, the subject census is listed at 69 in the Union list in the 7th schedule. According to the Constitution of India, the census is a Union subject. Some states have conducted surveys to enumerate caste. Some states have done this well, while some others have conducted such surveys purely from a political angle in a non-transparent way. Considering all these facts and to ensure that a social fabric is not disturbed by politics, caste enumeration should be transparently included in the census instead of surveys," he added.
Vaishnaw said this will strengthen the social and economic structure of the society while the nation continues to progress.
The minister said the Modi government had earlier introduced 10 per cent reservation for the Economically Weaker Sections without causing any stress on any section of the society.
The Congress and the opposition INDIA bloc had made caste census a major poll plank in the previous elections, with Rahul Gandhi promising representation to people based on their population.
Centre's caste census move before Bihar election
This decision comes just months before the Bihar assembly election. Backwards and marginalised communities together constitute nearly 85 per cent of Bihar’s population, greater than what the government presumed.
Chief minister Nitish Kumar-led the Bihar government in October 2023 carried out a caste survey, becoming the first state to do so. Incidentally, Bihar's caste survey was carried out and its findings released when the Congress was a partner in the state government.
After Bihar, Karnataka and Telangana, both ruled by the Congress, have undertaken the caste census.
(With inputs from agencies)
