Kharge writes to PM demanding caste census for social justice and empowerment

Rahul Gandhi had asked PM to release the 2011 caste-based census in the public domain while Jairam Ramesh said that a caste census will strengthen social empowerment.

New Delhi:Close on the heels of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi asking Prime Minister Narendra Modi to remove the 50 per cent cap on reservation, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge has written a letter to Modi demanding publication of an up-to-date caste census for better social empowerment.

In his letter to the Prime Minister, Kharge said that without an updated caste census, a reliable data base that is required for meaningful social justice and empowerment programs, particularly for the OBCs is incomplete. He said that the UPA government had conducted a Socio Economic and Caste Census (SECC) during 2011-12 covering around 25 crore households but it could not be published "even though Congress and other MPs demanded its release after your government came to power in May 2014". Kharge said he was placing on record the demand of the Indian National Congress for an up-to-date caste census which has already been raised in both House of Parliament on several occasions by the Congress along with other Opposition parties.

Pointing out that Census is the responsibility of the Union Government, Kharge said that regular decennial census was to be carried out in 2021 but it has not been conducted till now. He demanded that the census be done immediately and a comprehensive Caste Census be made its integral part.

Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh shared Kharge's letter and tweeted "Jitni aabadi, utna haq! Congress President @kharge -ji has written to PM demanding that the decennial Census that should have been conducted in 2021 be done right-away, and a Caste Census be made its integral part. This will put social justice & empowerment on a firmer footing".

While addressing Congress' 'Jai Bharat' election rally in Karnataka's Kolar in the run-up to the polls on May 10, Gandhi had on Sunday asked Modi to release the 2011 caste-based census data in public domain and demanded that the 50 per cent cap on reservation be removed. "The caste-based census was conducted by the UPA in 2011 and it includes the data of all the castes. Mr Prime Minister, you talk of OBCs. Make that data public. Let the nation know how many OBCs, Dalits and tribals are there in the country," Gandhi had said.