The Congress Working Committee will meet on Friday at the party’s Delhi headquarters to discuss the Centre’s surprise move to include caste enumeration in the upcoming national census — a first since Independence. The decision follows sustained pressure by opposition parties.
The Congress Working Committee (CWC) will meet on Friday to deliberate the Union government’s decision to include caste enumeration in the next national census, party sources said on Thursday. The meeting, scheduled for 4 PM at the Congress headquarters on 24 Akbar Road, comes two days after the Centre announced that caste details would be recorded in the next population census — the first such move since Independence.
The decision marks a major shift in the government’s stance, and has been welcomed by the Congress leadership, which has consistently demanded a caste-based census. Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi said the Centre’s announcement is a result of persistent pressure from the opposition, but warned against delays in implementation. “It is clear that the pressure we put on the government for the caste census has worked,” Gandhi posted on X. “But we don’t intend to stop here,” he added.
He called for a “comprehensive and consultative” census, removing the 50% cap on reservations, full implementation of Article 15(5) to enable reservations in private education, and a central law to guarantee budget allocations under the SC/ST Sub-plan.
‘…same fate as the women’s reservation bill’
Gandhi also expressed concern that the move might meet the same fate as the women’s reservation bill, which was passed last year but deferred until after the next census and delimitation exercise. He demanded a timeline for implementing the caste census.
The Congress has made caste enumeration a key election plank, especially in the run-up to the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, alongside regional allies. States like Bihar, Telangana and Karnataka — many governed by opposition parties — have already conducted similar caste-based surveys.
Meanwhile, announcing the Centre’s decision on Wednesday, Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said the census falls under the purview of the central government and accused some states of conducting caste surveys in a “non-transparent” manner, which, he claimed, had created confusion in society.
The CWC, the Congress party’s highest decision-making body, last met on April 24 in the wake of the terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam.
(With PTI inputs)
