"Modi Govt putting integrity of Census at risk": AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi

Hyderabad: AIMIM President Asaduddin Owaisi on Friday said that the Union Government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi is compromising the integrity of the national census, citing the exclusion of key data on open defecation and cooking fuel use in the latest National Family Health Survey, and stressed that accurate census data is essential for delimitation, development schemes, and food security.

In a post shared on X, Owaisi said, "There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics. Census data is essential for delimitation, development schemes, and food security. The Modi government is putting the integrity of the census at risk just so that it's not embarrassed."

"The latest National Family Health Survey has also dropped collecting information on open defecation, use of cooking fuel among other things," Owaisi said.


Read More: 'SIR will be used to create permanent class of excluded Indians': AIMIM chief Owaisi

The remarks come in response to a news report highlighting discrepancies between fieldwork data and government records. Census enumerators reportedly found variations in claims regarding open defecation-free villages, use of cow dung cakes, kerosene, or crop residue for cooking, and households without electricity, despite having LPG connections. Officials have asked enumerators to revisit and verify these discrepancies, the report said.

Earlier, Owaisi also criticised the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process, which he claimed deleted nearly 6.5 crore names from electoral rolls across 13 states and Union Territories. He warned that the exercise "will be used to create a permanent class of excluded Indians," and highlighted reports of people being denied welfare benefits after being removed from the rolls.

Under the law, deletions under SIR do not determine citizenship, Owaisi clarified, noting that around 27 lakh people are still under adjudication and can reapply for voter registration through Form 6.

He alleged that the bulk of exclusions disproportionately affect Muslims, women, the poor, and migrants, and questioned the need for a proposed government committee to study exclusions, given that demographic trends already show a stable population and total fertility rate of 2.0.

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Targeting the Centre, Owaisi said, "The government scrutinises common people through documentation exercises like KYC, SIR, or exam portals, but cannot itself be scrutinised. Constant paranoia and fear are being directed against Muslims under the guise of administrative exercises."

The Election Commission is conducting Phase-III of the SIR across 16 states and three Union Territories, covering over 36 crore electors, coordinated with ongoing house listing for the Census to optimise field operations. (ANI)