Key Points

Addressing a press conference here, Rahul Gandhi, who is the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, said Telangana has provided a model for conducting caste census and it can provide a blueprint for the exercise at the national level.

He said the Congress has been demanding a caste census and the government had "suddenly after 11 years" taken this decision.

"We had said in the Parliament that we will make Caste Census happen. We had also said that we would scrap the 50% cap, the artificial wall that is in place. Narendra Modi used to say that there are just four castes. Don't know what happened but suddenly after 11 years, Caste Census has been announced," Rahul Gandhi said.

"We completely support it but we want a timeline. We want to know that by when this will happen. This is the first step. Telangana has become a model in Caste Census and it can become a blueprint. We offer our support to the government in designing the Caste Census...There are two examples - Bihar's and Telangana's and there is a vast difference between the two," he added.

The Congress leader said the caste census is the first step, and there is a need to bring a new development paradigm.

"I would like to reiterate that caste census is the first step. Our vision is of bringing a new development paradigm through Caste Census. Not just reservations but we are also asking central questions - be it OBCs, Dalits, Adivasis, what is their participation in this country? Through Caste Census it will be found, but we have to go ahead of Caste Census...We had said one more thing, Congress had raised one more point, it was mentioned in the manifesto as well --- Article 15(5) - reservation in private educational institutions. This is already a law. We want the NDA-BJP Government to begin implementing it," he added.

The Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Wednesday decided to include caste enumeration in the upcoming census.

Information and Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw stated at a media briefing following the cabinet meeting that the decision demonstrates the present government's commitment to the holistic interests and values of the nation and society.

As per Article 246 of the Constitution of India, the Census is a Union subject listed at 69 in the Union List in the Seventh Schedule.

'While some states have conducted surveys to enumerate castes, these surveys have varied in transparency and intent, with some conducted purely from a political angle, creating doubts in society. Considering all these circumstances, and to ensure that our social fabric does not come under political pressure, it has been decided that caste enumeration should be included in the main census instead of being conducted as a separate survey," Vaishnaw said.

"This will ensure that society becomes stronger economically and socially, and the country's progress continues without hindrance. When a provision of 10 percent reservation was made for the economically weaker sections of society, it did not create tension in any section of society," he added.

The Union Minister said caste was excluded from all census operations conducted since independence.

"In 2010, then Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh assured the Lok Sabha that the matter of caste census would be considered in the Cabinet. A Group of Ministers was formed to deliberate on this subject, and most political parties recommended conducting a caste census. Despite this, the previous government opted for a survey instead of a caste census, known as the Socio-Economic and Caste Census (SECC)," he said.

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- ANI