New Delhi, June 17: The Congress on Tuesday accused the Centre of delaying the caste census, saying its intention appears to be to “buy time, grab headlines and manage the narrative”, and asked the government to be transparent about the exercise.
Congress general secretary Sachin Pilot said the objective cannot just be to collect data on an individual’s caste but to understand the living conditions of these families and create policies to substantially improve their livelihoods.
He said there are doubts about the government’s intentions on the caste census and pointed out that the required funding for the census is Rs 10,000 crore whereas the government has allocated only Rs 574 crore.
His remarks come a day after a Home Ministry spokesperson made it clear that the census will include caste enumeration, following the Congress’ charge that the government notification is “silent” on the inclusion of caste in the exercise.
“The demand for a caste census was led by the Congress party, particularly by the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, who has been raising this issue for several years.
“Due to the party’s continuous and forceful demand, the Modi government has yielded and announced a caste census. However, the facts and figures tell a different story,” Pilot said at a press conference at the Congress’ Indira Bhawan headquarters here on Tuesday.
The government plans to start the exercise in 2027, but the required funding for the census is Rs 10,000 crore, whereas the government has allocated only Rs 574 crore, he pointed out.
“The objective is not just to collect data on an individual’s caste but to understand the living conditions of these families and create policies to substantially improve their livelihoods. Without tangible data, no state or central government can implement targeted interventions, which is what we aimed to achieve,” he said.
Initially, the BJP labelled us as “urban naxals” and refused to accept these demands and now, sensing the country’s mood, they have accepted the proposal in principle, he said.
“However, there seems to be considerable confusion and dissatisfaction regarding it. Therefore, I urge the government to be clear and transparent, avoiding extended deadlines and inadequate budget allocations,” Pilot said.
“The idea is to accurately assess the status of people living in India, and caste census is the perfect way to do it. Unfortunately, it appears the government’s intention is to buy time, grab headlines, and manage the narrative,” he said.
Pilot claimed that the Modi government is delaying the caste census just as it had done on the women’s reservation issue.
“We say that the government should stop politicising this and work effectively and adopt the ‘Telangana model’ for caste census at the national level,” he said.
“Look at the intention of the BJP government, where 8-10 thousand crore rupees are spent in conducting the census, the government has allocated only 570 crore rupees in the budget,” he said.
“The government is telling the people that it will conduct caste census, but this thing is missing from the formal notification,” Pilot said.
The Congress stuck to its allegations even as the BJP hit back at the opposition party, accusing it of carrying out “false and misleading” propaganda on Census 2027 because its hope of gaining power by creating division in society is falling apart with the government’s decision to include caste enumeration in the nationwide exercise.
Pilot said the Congress government in Telangana has done the caste survey work in a very good manner. “They did not involve government officials but engaged NGOs and technical people for their survey,” he said.
“Caste census is the first step through which we will know the economic and social status of the people, but the Modi government does not seem to have any intention of conducting caste census,” he claimed. (PTI)
