The Congress on Tuesday accused the Modi government of attempting to undermine the caste census and questioned why the 2027 census lacks a drop-down menu for selecting castes, despite the Centre’s recommendation for such a provision in an affidavit filed before the Supreme Court in September 2021.
The opposition party alleged that the prime minister made a “complete U-turn” on April 30, 2025, when he announced a caste census, and accused him of now making a “U-turn on his earlier U-turn.”
Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh highlighted that on September 21, 2021, the Modi government had filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court categorically rejecting the plea for a caste census.
"However, para 12 (d) in the affidavit says the following: 'There was no registry of caste prepared prior to the conduct of the 2011 Census.
It would have been ideal for the Registry of Castes that there should have been given a drop-down menu for selection of the castes, which could have made some consistent data available which can be relied upon'," Ramesh said in a post on X.
Ramesh questioned why the 2027 census does not feature this drop-down menu, which the Modi government had recommended in its affidavit to the Supreme Court in September 2021.
He noted that such a menu had been prepared before caste surveys were conducted in Bihar and Telangana.
This suggestion was also reflected in a letter from the Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge to Prime Minister Modi on May 5, 2025, Ramesh pointed out.
"The conclusion is clear: the Modi Government wants to simply sabotage the caste census.
The PM had made a complete U-turn on April 30, 2025 and announced that a caste census, which he had earlier attacked as an 'urban naxal' idea, would take place.
"Now he has done another U-turn on his earlier U-turn and, without saying so, has buried the idea of a caste census.
He is a U-turn ustad," Ramesh said.
Meanwhile, Anil Jaihind, head of the Congress OBC department, said the absence of a separate OBC column in the census questionnaire violated the principles of social justice and would prevent the community’s actual population from being recorded.
Jaihind alleged that instead of conducting the caste census in a scientific and transparent manner, the government was following a process that could result in OBCs being excluded from official statistics.
He also alleged that a “Manuvadi” (caste-hierarchical) system was operating in practice.
Referring to the notification issued on August 14, Jaihind pointed to the absence of a separate column for OBCs in the 10th question of the census questionnaire.
Congress leader Subhashini Sharad Yadav said the census must accurately capture caste identities, as the nature and manifestation of castes vary across different regions of the country.
(With inputs from PTI)
