New Delhi [India] August 25 (ANI): Political row over the national caste census has intensified after Congress leaders Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi wrote a joint letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking withdrawal of the current questionnaire.
The Opposition has flagged that the questionnaire notified on August 14 uses open-ended caste entries instead of a pre-compiled list, which it says will distort demographic data. The BJP has dismissed the charge as opposition "panic".
In their letter, the Congress leaders said the open-ended format for caste entry, instead of a structured menu, risks data inaccuracy.
Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge highlighted that open-ended fields risk recording identical castes under varying regional spellings, sub-caste names, or local terminology. This could scatter the dataset into thousands of fragmented entries, ultimately undercounting Other Backwards Classes (OBCs) and disadvantaged groups.
"Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and I have written a joint letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji expressing serious concern over the current process of caste census. It is not possible to accurately count castes through open-ended questions. If the same caste is recorded under different names and sub-castes, the data will be scattered, and the biggest loss will be to OBCs, most backward, and deprived communities," Kharge wrote on X.
They demanded a replacement of the current form with a pre-verified drop-down list of castes, similar to the state-level methodologies used in Bihar and Telangana.
"Our demand is clear - the current questionnaire should be cancelled, a new questionnaire should be prepared based on a verified list of castes, and extensive consultation should be done with political parties, experts, and the public. Like the caste surveys in Telangana and Bihar, conducting the count based on a pre-prepared and verified caste list is a practical solution. The caste census should not only be done, it should also be done correctly," Kharge said.
Congress leaders, including Jairam Ramesh and KC Venugopal, criticised the process as a "deception" and noted that the form omits explicit options or terms for backward classes. They called for all-party consultations to restructure the exercise.
Congress MP Jairam Ramesh also termed the proposed exercise a "deception", arguing that it would not constitute a comprehensive caste census as the questionnaire notified on August 14 contains only one caste-related question among 40 questions.
He demanded that the exercise be scrapped and conducted on the lines of the caste surveys carried out in Bihar and Telangana.
Congress MP KC Venugopal also criticised the proposed questionnaire, saying that an open-ended caste question could undermine the exercise.
"An open-ended question on caste means that the Caste Census is set up to fail. The current census questionnaire does not even have the word 'backward' or 'OBC' for the enumerators to select. Without a list of options for castes, as was done in Telangana and Bihar, a caste census is meaningless," Venugopal wrote on X.
He alleged that the approach reflected the BJP's "insincerity towards social justice" and urged the Prime Minister to make changes to the questionnaire. The BJP, however, hit back at the Congress over its criticism.
The BJP countered the demands, maintaining that the decision to include caste enumeration in the upcoming census reflects the Modi administration's commitment to social justice.
The Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister stated that the Congress failed to conduct a caste census during its decades in power and argued that its current reaction stems from "panic and consternation" as the Modi government prepares to execute the count.
"The Congress remained in power for such a long time but never conducted a caste census; now, the government led by PM Modi is going to conduct a caste census for the first time. This has caused panic and consternation among the Congress and its allied parties, because under the leadership of PM Modi, everyone is receiving support, development, justice, and due recognition," Maurya said.
UP Minister Sunil Sharma criticised Rahul Gandhi for raising procedural objections while keeping his own background private.
He said, "Rahul Gandhi has never disclosed his own caste to this day, so how would it work? PM Modi is getting it done, but Rahul Gandhi has not revealed what his caste is."
Meanwhile, Uttar Pradesh Cabinet Minister Om Prakash Rajbhar dismissed the opposition's claims as mere political rhetoric ahead of upcoming state assembly contests.
"Do not worry about Rahul Gandhi or Akhilesh Yadav; rest assured, the Yogi Adityanath government will be formed again in 2027; there is no disturbance. Let Rahul Gandhi and Akhilesh Yadav speak; since they are in the opposition, let them have their say," Rajbhar said.
The Opposition, led by Rahul Gandhi and the INDIA bloc, has been demanding a national caste census, arguing that comprehensive caste data is necessary to assess the demographic composition of OBCs and other socially disadvantaged communities and to inform reservations and welfare policies.
The Centre's decision to include caste enumeration in the upcoming national Census has brought the issue back into the political spotlight. However, the Opposition has raised concerns over the use of an open-ended format, arguing that it could result in variations in caste names, spelling differences and duplicate entries.
Bihar and Telangana have previously undertaken state-level caste and socio-economic surveys using structured methodologies. The surveys relied on pre-defined lists of recognised castes and standardised coding systems rather than unrestricted text-based entries, with enumerators collecting demographic and socio-economic information at the household level.
The Congress is now seeking a similar structured approach for the national exercise, while the BJP maintains that the Centre's decision to conduct caste enumeration represents a significant step towards addressing social and developmental concerns. (ANI)
Caste census questionnaire sparks political showdown: Congress demands revision, BJP cites 'panic' in Opposition ranks
