Caste Census Announced: In a big development, the Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said that the caste enumeration will be part of the forthcoming census. The announcement was made by Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw.
Addressing the media, Union Minister Ashiwini Vaishnaw criticised the Congress for not conducting caste census. “Congress governments have always opposed the caste census. In 2010, the late Dr Manmohan Singh said that the matter of caste census should be considered in the Cabinet. A group of ministers was formed to consider this subject. Most of the political parties have recommended a caste census. Despite this, the Congress government decided to conduct a survey of caste or a caste census. It is well understood that Congress and its INDI alliance partners have used the caste census only as a political tool,” Vaishnaw said.
Reacting to the caste census done by Bihar and Congress-ruled state of Telangana, Viashnaw said, “Some states have conducted surveys to enumerate castes. While some states have done this well, some others conducted such surveys only from a political angle in a non-transparent way. Such surveys created doubts in society. To ensure that our social fabric is not disturbed by politics, caste enumeration should be included in the census instead of surveys.”
This is a developing story.