After years of political noise, the Union Cabinet on Wednesday finally cleared the decks for caste enumeration in the upcoming population census. Announcing the decision, Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw launched a scathing attack on the Congress and its INDIA alliance partners, accusing them of using caste surveys as a political weapon while doing little to implement them when in power.
Taking direct aim at the Opposition, Vaishnaw alleged that several Congress-ruled states had commissioned caste-based surveys merely to score electoral points. In contrast, he said, the Modi government is committed to conducting a full-scale, transparent caste census at the national level.
“Congress governments have always opposed caste census,” Vaishnaw said, pointing out that caste has been consistently excluded from all post-Independence census operations. He reminded reporters that while the Congress routinely talked about caste enumeration, it repeatedly stopped short of actually doing it.
Recalling the UPA era, Vaishnaw said, “In 2010, late Dr had assured the Lok Sabha that the matter of caste census should be considered in the Cabinet. A group was formed to consider this subject, and several parties had recommended the same. Despite this, the Congress government conducted a caste survey, not a caste census. It is well understood that Congress and its INDIA alliance partners have used caste census only as a political tool.”
welcomes move
Following the announcement, the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha welcomed the step and reiterated the demand for 50% reservation as well as sought a timeline of the future course of actions. Speaking to reporters, Gandhi said, “In Parliament, we had said that we will get caste census done. We had also said that 50 per cent cap will be removed. I don’t know what happened that suddenly after 11 years. When Modi ji used to say there are four castes. Modiji has announced caste census. We support it. We want a timeline. This is a first step.”
Gandhi added, “Telangana can be the model for caste census. We will design the caste census. There are two examples: Telangana and Bihar. There is a huge difference.”
Congress’s major poll plank
The caste census has been a , with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi frequently accusing the of denying backward communities their fair share in governance. During the recent Lok Sabha polls, Gandhi spearheaded a pitch for stronger OBC representation, making caste census a central theme of his speeches.
The Congress had even passed a resolution to conduct a as part of the regular decadal exercise, which was due in 2021. It also pledged to lift the 50 per cent cap on caste-based reservations for SCs, STs, and OBCs through legislative amendments.
Taking a direct swipe at the Prime Minister, Gandhi had alleged: “The RSS and Modi have put in place a system to distract the attention of OBCs, Dalits, and tribals from the truth regarding their representation. And Modi is the main instrument… Unka yahi kaam hai ki Bhaiya , OBC ki bhagidari na ho … dhyan idhar-udhar jaata jaaye (His job is to ensure that the attention of OBCs is diverted, so that they don’t get their due).”
