NEW DELHI, AUG 25 (PTI): The Congress on Tuesday alleged that the way the caste census was being conducted in the country was a “betrayal of the people”, “self-sabotage” and a “whitewash” by the government, as it asserted that the caste count in its present form was unacceptable.
Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh made the assertion at a press conference after releasing to the media the latest letter by Leaders of the Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi to Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the caste census issue.
“The Congress party believes that the way the caste census is being conducted in the country is a betrayal of the people. Instead of deceiving the public, the Modi government should conduct the caste census in the country in the right and honest manner,” Ramesh said.
“The chief minister who got it done in Bihar is now with the NDA; they should get it done in the manner it was done in Bihar and Telangana,” the Congress leader said in an apparent swipe at JD(U) chief Nitish Kumar.
Initially, Modi did not want to conduct a caste census for many years, but since the announcement of the census, he has been continuously doing “U-turns”, Ramesh alleged.
“We will not accept the way this census is being conducted, because it is just a whitewash. Leaders of our party have written several letters, to which no response has come yet, but we will not let go of this issue.
“We hope that Prime Minister Modi will take our letters and their suggestions seriously,” Ramesh said at the press conference along with Congress’ OBC Department head Anil ‘Jai Hind’ Yadav.
Ramesh said the notification on caste census stated that 40 questions would be asked and the 10th question would be linked to caste.
“It is a form of self-sabotage, will not ensure social justice,” he claimed.
“This is the third letter from the Congress party to the prime minister on the caste census. The first letter was written by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge to the prime minister on April 16, 2023, regarding the caste census.
After that, the Congress president wrote a second, lengthy two-page letter on May 5, 2025, also regarding the caste census, and offered some suggestions, including constructive ones, Ramesh said, adding that it was sent to the prime minister. He said neither of the two letters received a response from the prime minister, the Prime Minister’s Office, the home minister or any official.
“This is the third letter, and this time both Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge have signed it. The subject remains the same that the Congress party has been raising for the past three years,” he said.
Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Kharge and Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Gandhi have written to Modi, demanding that the government scrap the existing questionnaire for it and formulate a new one after consulting political parties, experts, and the general public. Kharge and Gandhi said they do not accept the caste census being conducted in the current manner and urged the government to take a cue from the caste surveys done in Telangana and Bihar.
Registrar General of India holds 2-day conference on Census 2027
The Registrar General of India organised a two-day workshop for Census Operational Directors of select states and Union Territories to review preparations for the second phase of Census 2027, officials said.
The workshop focused on strengthening preparations for population enumeration across the country, improving coordination and ensuring effective implementation, the Census Commissioner’s office said on X.
Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India Mrityunjay Kumar Narayan addressed the conference and asked the officers to step up preparations for the second phase of the country’s mammoth headcount exercise.
Population enumeration in Ladakh and the snow-bound non-synchronous areas of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand will be conducted from September 1 to 30, according to a gazette notification issued earlier this month.
The option for self-enumeration in these areas has been available from August 17 to 31, ahead of the field visits.
In the rest of the country, population enumeration will begin next year as part of the massive administrative exercise, which will use a digital-first framework to map demographic data.
The decennial census, originally scheduled for 2021, was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Union Cabinet has approved Rs 11,718 crore for conducting the Census, which will be the country’s biggest headcount exercise.
