Caste census: Congress calls it ‘right step’, demands fund allocation to initiate the exercise

The Congress on Wednesday termed the Narendra Modi government’s decision to include caste enumeration in the forthcoming population survey as a “right step” and demanded that funds be allocated to initiate the exercise with complete transparency.

 

Addressing a press conference, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said the opposition party had continuously raised the demand for caste census, but the Modi government was “avoiding” its implementation.

 

"Today, the Modi government has announced to conduct a caste census along with the census. This is the right step which we have been demanding from day one. I raised it multiple times in Parliament and also wrote a letter to the prime minister,” Kharge said.

 

"The leaders of the INDIA bloc have also demanded caste census many times and this became an important issue in the Lok Sabha elections. Time and again, Modi ji kept avoiding implementing this policy of social justice and kept falsely accusing the opposition of dividing the society," he further said.

 

The Congress and other opposition parties have been demanding for a nation-wide caste census, with leader of the opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi being its most vocal supporter.

 

The Congress had promised such a survey in its manifesto for the Lok Sabha elections held last year. Some states like Bihar, Telangana and Karnataka have conducted such surveys.

 

Kharge said the government should make provisions for funds as soon as possible and start the work of census and caste census with complete transparency.

 

"There is an allocation of only Rs 575 crore for the census in this year's budget. So it is appropriate to ask how and when the government will complete it,” he added.

India