No clarity on caste census a year after promise: Congress

Congress on Thursday said there is still no clarity on how the proposed caste census will be conducted, as April 30 marked one year since the PM announced that the exercise would be undertaken. The party questioned whether the government intends to delay the exercise.

"Exactly a year ago the Modi government had announced that caste enumeration of the entire population will be included in the upcoming census," said Congress spokesperson Jairam Ramesh. "A full year has passed. The details of how this caste enumeration will be done are still awaited. There has been no dialogue with Opposition parties and state governments, let alone with experts in this subject."

During the recently concluded Parliament session, some Opposition members sought an update on the caste census. Home minister Amit Shah had told the Lok Sabha that caste enumeration was part of the ongoing census.


Ramesh also recalled that the PM and BJP had initially been dismissive of demands from Congress and other Opposition parties for a caste census before announcing the decision.