Congress seeks all-party meet to get clarity on whether census would include enumeration of castes

New Delhi: The Congress on Monday sought an all-party meeting to get clarity on whether the next census would include a detailed enumeration of all castes and whether the census will be used for determining the strength of each state in the Lok Sabha.

Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said the extension of the tenure of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner has been notified and it means that the long-delayed Census that was due in 2021 will finally be conducted soon.

“But there is still absolutely no clarity on two crucial issues. Will this new Census include a detailed enumeration of ALL castes in the country, in addition to that of scheduled castes and scheduled tribes that has been done in every Census since 1951? According to the Constitution of India, such a Caste Census is the sole responsibility of the Union Government,” Ramesh said in a post on X.

“Will this Census be used for determining the strength of each state in the Lok Sabha as provided for in Article 82 of the Constitution of India (which says that the first Census taken after the year 2026 and the publication of its results will the basis of any such reconstitution)? Will this work to the disadvantage of states that have been pioneers in family planning?” the Congress leader said.

It would be most appropriate if an all-party meeting is held soon to get clarity on these two vital issues, Ramesh asserted.

The central deputation of Mritunjay Kumar Narayan, currently serving as Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India, has been extended till August 2026, paving the way for him to lead the team to carry out the much-delayed decadal census of India.

“The President is pleased to extend the central deputation tenure of Shri Mritunjay Kumar Narayan, IAS (UP:1995), Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India, Ministry of Home Affairs beyond 06.12.2024 for a period up to 04.08.2026 or until further orders whichever is earlier. The Headquarters of Shri Mritunjay Kumar Narayan, IAS (UP:1995) will be New Delhi,” according to an official notification.

Narayan is a 1995 batch IAS officer of the Uttar Pradesh cadre and is holding the key post under the Ministry of Home Affairs since 2020.

The house listing phase of the census and the exercise to update the National Population Register (NPR) were scheduled to be carried out across the country from April 1 to September 30, 2020 but were postponed due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

The census operation continues to be on hold and the government has not yet announced the new schedule.

The government is expected to announce the schedule for the much-delayed exercise soon.