New Delhi: The Union Cabinet on Wednesday decided that the enumeration of caste will be included in the forthcoming census.”Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Cabinet Committee of Political Affairs has decided that caste enumeration should be included in the forthcoming census. This demonstrates that the government is committed to the values and interests of a society like in the past when the government introduced 10 per cent reservation in the economically weaker sections of society without stress in any section,” Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said at a media briefing after the conclusion of the cabinet meeting.The Cabinet meeting is the first after the Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 people, mostly tourists, on April 22. The meeting started with a two-minute silence that was observed to honour the victims.
Accusing the Congress government of using caste as a political tool, Vaishnaw said that the grand old party has always opposed the caste census never included caste in any census conducted since independence.”In 2010, the then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had assured Lok Sabha that the caste census will be considered in the Cabinet. Following which, a Group of Ministers was formed to consider the matter. Most political parties recommended in favour of a caste census. Despite this, the party conducted only a survey of caste and not a caste census. That survey is known as SECC. It’s well understood that Congress and its INDIA bloc partners have always used caste as a political tool,” the minister said.
The Union minister also took a dig at states that went ahead with caste surveys, saying “census” is a Union subject as per the Constitution. According to Article 246 of the Constitution of India, the subject census is listed at 69 in the Union list in the Seventh Schedule, and the Census is a Union subject, he added.He said some states have done this well while some others have conducted such surveys “purely from a political angle in a non-transparent way”.
The NDA-led Bihar was the first state to conduct a caste census.Vaishnaw said that such surveys have created doubts in society. Considering all these facts, and to ensure that our social fabric is not disturbed by politics, caste enumeration should be transparently included in the Census instead of surveys, he said, adding, “This will strengthen the social and economic structure of our society while the nation continues to progress”.Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi has been vocal in support of a caste census and asked PM Modi to conduct a nationwide caste census.