BENGALURU: The Centre has delayed the census to avoid exposing the real social and economic impact of its governance, said IT-BT Minister Priyank Kharge on Wednesday, while questioning the urgency of pushing delimitation and the Women’s Reservation Bill without updated data. He said such reforms must be based on a fresh census to ensure fairness, transparency and balanced representation across regions.
He claimed that the census, which was due in 2021, has been delayed deliberately, arguing that it could expose the “real social and economic impact” of governance under Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the past decade. “The failures will be exposed, which is why the census has not been conducted,” he alleged.
Kharge questioned how justice can be ensured for schedule caste, scheduled tribes, other backward classes and other communities, particularly women, without reliable data. “Policy decisions must be data-driven. Without a census, how will you decide who gets what share?” he said.
Alleging a lack of transparency, the minister said even BJP MPs and stakeholders are unaware of the contents of the proposed Women’s Reservation Bill or the framework for delimitation.
The minister demanded that the Centre first place the draft in the public domain and allow consultations.
Raising concerns over federal balance, he warned that delimitation without updated data could skew parliamentary representation in favour of certain regions, potentially sidelining southern states.