'Der Aaye, Durust Aaye': Congress Reacts To Centre's Caste Census Announcement
The Congress on Wednesday took a jibe at the Narendra Modi-led NDA government over its announcement of caste enumeration to be included in the next census exercise, saying "Der aaye, Durust aaye" (Better late than never).
Congress leader Jairam Ramesh, in a post on X, said that the party had demanded caste-based census in the recent party resolution on social justice, which was passed in Ahmedabad on April 9 this year.
He stated the Congress party’s resolve for social justice in his post, and reiterated “that the party considers the census to be a necessary step to understand the true population numbers of SCs, STs, and OBCs, so that they can receive their rightful share.”
Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw announced on Wednesday that the caste census will be incorporated into the national census. The Minister of Information and Broadcasting, Vaishnaw, said that "Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs (CCPA) has decided today that caste enumeration should be included in the forthcoming census," addressing a press conference.
In his address, he also criticized the Congress government for discontinuing the inclusion of caste in all census operations after independence.
“Congress governments always opposed caste census and added that caste was not included in all the census operations conducted since independence,” he said.
He further added, “In 2010, late Dr Manmohan Singh had assured the Lok Sabha that the matter of caste census should be considered in the Cabinet. A group was formed to consider this subject and several parties had recommended the same. Despite this, the Congress government conducted a caste survey not a caste census. Well understood that Congress and its India alliance partners have used caste census only as a political tool.”
The BJP-led NDA government's decision holds significant political weight ahead of the upcoming Bihar Assembly elections, scheduled for later this year. While every census from 1951 to 2011 has included data on Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, it has excluded data on other castes,a practice that was followed only until 1931. In response to this major development, Congress leader Akhilesh Pratap Singh credited Rahul Gandhi, stating that the public stands to benefit and that the government was compelled to act due to Congress's persistent demand. Rahul Gandhi, Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha and former Congress president, has consistently pressured the Centre to carry out a caste-based census, making it a focal point in his rallies over the past several months.
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