Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, urging him to engage with all political parties and adopt the Telangana model for conducting a caste census.
He also called for a constitutional amendment to remove the 50 per cent cap on reservations and immediate implementation of Article 15(5) to extend reservations for SCs, STs, and OBCs in private educational institutions.
Kharge emphasised that conducting a caste census is essential to ensure justice for marginalized communities and should not be seen as divisive.
“Our great nation and our large-hearted people have always come together as one, just as we did after the recent cowardly terrorist attacks in Pahalgam,” Kharge wrote in his letter dated May 5. He reiterated the Congress party’s long-standing demand for an updated caste census and reminded the PM that he had earlier written on this issue on April 16, 2023 — a letter that went unanswered.
“Regrettably, I never received a reply. Instead, your party and you attacked the Congress for making this legitimate demand — a demand you now seem to acknowledge,” Kharge noted.
He pointed out that Modi has recently announced that the upcoming Census (originally scheduled for 2021) would include caste as a separate category, but no details have been shared so far.
Kharge made three key suggestions in his letter:
1. Questionnaire design based on Telangana model
The census should collect caste data not merely for counting, but for driving inclusive socio-economic development. He cited the Telangana caste survey as an ideal example in terms of methodology and transparency.
2. Transparency and publication of data
The final report must be made fully public, ensuring that socio-economic data for each caste is available. This will help measure progress and enforce rights guaranteed by the Constitution.
3. Removal of 50 per cent cap on reservations
Kharge argued that the 50 per cent ceiling on reservations is arbitrary and must be removed through a constitutional amendment. He also called for inclusion of other states’ reservation laws in the Ninth Schedule, similar to Tamil Nadu’s.
He stressed the importance of implementing Article 15(5), which provides for reservations in private educational institutions.
Though passed in 2006 and upheld by the Supreme Court in January 2014, this article remains unimplemented. A Parliamentary Standing Committee report from March 2025 has also recommended new legislation to enforce it.
The Congress and other opposition parties have been consistently pushing for a nationwide caste census, which has become a major political issue ahead of the elections. States like Bihar, Telangana, and Karnataka have already undertaken such surveys.
Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh shared Kharge’s letter on social media platform X, noting that it followed the May 2nd Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting.
“Kharge ji has made three very specific suggestions,” Ramesh wrote, adding that the PM’s recent shift on the caste census appeared “sudden and desperate,” even as the nation grieves the terror attacks in Pahalgam.