The Congress on Thursday said that one year has passed since the government announced a caste census, but details on how the enumeration will be carried out are still awaited, alleging that Prime Minister Narendra Modi intends to delay the exercise.
Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said that exactly a year ago, the Modi government had announced that caste enumeration of the entire population would be included in the upcoming Census.
In a post on X, Ramesh cited what he described as a chronology of the issue. He said that on July 21, 2021, the Home Minister, in response to a question in the Lok Sabha by BJP MP Smt Raksha Nikhil Khadse (now a Minister), had stated that the government had decided as a matter of policy not to enumerate caste-wise population. He further said that on September 21, 2021, the government filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court stating that any direction to conduct caste-wise enumeration would amount to interference in a policy decision already taken by the government.
Ramesh pointed out that Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge had written to the Prime Minister on April 16, 2023, demanding an up-to-date caste census as part of the regular Census.
He also said that on April 28, 2024, in a television interview to News18 Network, the Prime Minister criticised the Congress demand, saying it reflected “urban naxal” thinking.
Ramesh said the Prime Minister owed an apology to the Congress leadership for the remark and also an explanation for what he called a reversal in stance after announcing a caste census on April 30, 2025.
He said a full year has passed but details on implementation are still not available, and there has been no dialogue with Opposition parties, state governments or experts on the subject.
Ramesh further said that Congress president Kharge wrote again to the Prime Minister on May 5, 2025, but the letter was not acknowledged. He said the issues raised in that communication remain valid.
He added that the matter has become even more relevant after the recently concluded special session of Parliament, where, according to him, it appeared that the Prime Minister intends to delay the caste census.