Congress welcomes Centre's caste census move, govt must detail timeframe for its execution: Rahul Gandhi

Rahul Gandhi

Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, welcoming Centre's announcement of conducting caste census along with general population survey (decadal census) sought concrete timeframe from the Centre on its execution and the mechanisms that will go into its implementation.

Gandhi added that conducting caste census is only a primary step and the details that emerge from it will form the backbone of further developmental exercises. He emphaised that the Centre must study the Telangana model of conducting the caste census and should implement the idea on those lines.

Speaking on the issue, Gandhi said the Congress supports the idea of identifying just four broad caste categories, as mentioned by Prime Minister Modi, but demanded clarity on when the census would be conducted.

"We had said in Parliament that we will carry out a caste census and remove the 50% reservation cap,” Gandhi stated, adding, "We fully support the government and are ready to help design the caste census, using models like Telangana’s. But the government must give a timeline."

He also said that India needs to go beyond just conducting a caste census and take further steps toward social justice.

Earlier today, Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, said that the Union Cabinet has decided to include caste enumeration as part of the next census. He was briefing the media regarding decisions of the Union Cabinet.

“Under the leadership of our Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Cabinet Committee of Political Affairs has decided today that caste enumeration should be included in the forthcoming Census. This demonstrates that our government is committed to the values and interests of our society and the country, like in the past, when our government had introduced 10% reservations for economically weaker sections of society," remarked Vaishnaw.