‘Nefarious purpose’: Congress on Census questions

On Wednesday, the Congress party accused the Census 2027 methodology of being deliberately flawed and having a hidden, sinister motive. General Secretary Jairam Ramesh alleged that questions on caste, religion, date of birth, and the parents' place of birth are unprecedented in scope. The party shared a media report on X that detailed the proposed census questionnaire's micro questions, which would allow respondents to declare their caste or opt out of doing so.

Ramesh expressed concern over the lack of a drop-down menu for caste selection, despite the government's recommendation in its affidavit to the Supreme Court in September 2021. He pointed out that the affidavit explicitly supports the inclusion of such a menu, stating that a registry of castes should have been established beforehand to provide consistent, reliable data. The Congress party questioned the sudden shift in policy, as the Modi government initially announced a caste census before reversing its stance.