New Delhi: The Congress party, through its general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh, launched a scathing attack on the government's preparations for Census 2027 on Thursday, September 10. Ramesh asserted that the upcoming census had become 'totally perverted' with 'very dubious' intent, labeling its content as 'worthless, superfluous and diabolical' at various points.
Ramesh's sharp criticism stemmed from a media report highlighting two major government decisions: advancing the Population Enumeration phase of Census 2027 in four states gearing up for elections, and introducing several new questions into the Census schedule. These changes have prompted former Census officials to voice significant concerns regarding the quality of the data to be collected and the potential links between the Census, the National Population Register (NPR), and ultimately, the National Register of Citizens (NRC).
Elaborating on his accusations in a social media post, Ramesh detailed the problematic aspects. He described the inclusion of a caste question as 'worthless', while data related to vaccination was deemed 'superfluous' given that such datasets already exist. He reserved his strongest condemnation for questions concerning a person's parents' names, religion, and place of birth, branding them as 'diabolical'.
This latest broadside follows previous Congress concerns regarding the ongoing caste census. On Wednesday, the party had criticized the government's choice to use open-ended questions instead of a structured drop-down list, calling it a 'very serious flaw'. They suggested that Prime Minister Narendra Modi might be intentionally setting up the entire process for failure.
Further emphasizing their objections, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi jointly penned a letter to Prime Minister Modi on August 20. In their correspondence, both senior leaders expressed grave reservations about the current methodology of the caste census and reiterated the party's core demand for a properly conducted caste census.
Image for illustration purposes only
📰 Source: Siasat Gulf