Rahul Gandhi has been the strongest and most persistent advocate of a nationwide caste census, says party president Mallikarjun Kharge
NEW DELHI — The caste census, announced by the BJP-led government this week, should be a time-bound and transparent exercise at all stages, the Congress party has said. Expressing apprehension that the move could end up as another unfulfilled promise like the Women’s Reservation Bill, the party reiterated its demand that it should be carried out without any ambiguity.
The Congress Working Committee (CWC), which met here on Friday under the leadership of party president Mallikarjun Kharge, passed a resolution welcoming the government’s decision but flagged the lack of clarity and financial commitment to the process.
“No details have been provided on what the government intends to do, and no financial allocations have been made,” the resolution noted.
In his opening remarks, Kharge congratulated senior leader Rahul Gandhi for consistently raising the issue, both during the 2024 Lok Sabha election campaign and in previous years. The party credited Gandhi with being the strongest and most persistent advocate of a nationwide caste census.
“After 11 years of continued opposition and stubborn refusal, the (Narendra) Modi government has finally conceded the demand of the Indian National Congress to collect population data caste-wise, as part of the next census,” the CWC said, highlighting how the prime minister had previously attacked the Congress leadership over the issue.
The resolution recalled that Kharge had written to the prime minister in April 2023 demanding an updated and comprehensive caste census, along with the removal of the 50 percent cap on reservations for Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST), and Other Backward Classes (OBCs).
Rahul Gandhi’s push for the caste census dates back to the 2022 Nav Sankalp Shivir in Udaipur, where he underscored the need for data-driven policymaking. The Congress reiterated that this demand featured prominently in its 2019 and 2024 election manifestos and was reaffirmed at the 2023 plenary session in Raipur.
“At the 2022 Nav Sankalp Shivir in Udaipur, he raised the urgent need to gather data on caste so that government policies could truly reflect the lived realities of the marginalised,” the CWC noted, while adding that the demand was reiterated at the Congress plenary in Raipur in 2023 and was a central feature of both the 2019 and 2024 Lok Sabha manifestos of the party.
Quoting Gandhi, the CWC stated that policies of reservation, welfare, and inclusion “cannot be based on outdated assumptions or arbitrary caps but must be grounded in facts.”
The resolution also called for the urgent implementation of Article 15(5) of the Constitution to enable reservations for OBCs, Dalits, and Adivasis in private educational institutions. “Article 15(5) is not just a constitutional provision; it is a social justice imperative,” the party said.
Pointing to Telangana’s caste survey as a model, the Congress urged the central government to adopt a similar inclusive framework for the national exercise. It also demanded a parliamentary debate on the issue and insisted that all political parties be taken into confidence.
The party called for the immediate allocation of funds and a clearly defined timeline covering all stages of the census — from the preparation of the questionnaire and methodology to enumeration, classification, and publication of data.
“A caste census, properly designed and implemented, will work to benefit all sections of society,” the CWC said.
Speaking to reporters after the meeting, senior Congress leaders, including Jairam Ramesh, Bhupesh Baghel, Sachin Pilot, Charanjit Singh Channi, and Saptagiri Ulaka, echoed the call for urgency.
Pilot said that the BJP had been forced to accept the demand under public pressure, driven by Congress’s advocacy. Baghel called the government’s move a “victory for Rahul Gandhi,” but warned against any diversionary intent.
“The caste census must not be reduced to just a column in the census form — it must be a comprehensive exercise to understand the socio-economic realities of our people,” he said.
Ulaka cautioned that the Congress would not allow the caste census to meet the same fate as the Women’s Reservation Bill or other BJP “jumlas” like the promise of two crore jobs annually.
