Fix a timeline, allocate funds, make caste census a priority: Kharge

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge reacts on Union Cabinet’s decision on caste enumeration in census, in Bengaluru, on May 1, 2025.
| Photo Credit: PTI

All India Congress Committee (AICC) president and the Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge, welcoming the Union government’s decision to carry out a caste census along with the upcoming general Census, demanded that the government made it a priority, allocated sufficient funds, and finished the exercise within a stipulated timeline. He added that a socio-economic and educational survey should also be completed in a way that satisfied everyone.

Speaking to media persons in Bengaluru, Mr. Kharge said all the Opposition parties had been demanding a caste census, and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had taken the lead on the issue. Although the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government had turned down the demand earlier, they had finally agreed, Mr. Kharge said.

“I had written a letter two years ago demanding a caste census along with the upcoming general Census. They did not agree then. But now they have announced they will do it, and we welcome it and will fully cooperate with the Union government, as it is good for the nation,” Mr. Kharge said.

Responding to questions over allegations by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) that the Congress was not committed to the idea and Jawaharlal Nehru had opposed a caste census, Mr. Kharge accused the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and Jan Sangh of being anti-reservation since their inception. If the Congress was against the caste census, why would the party and its leaders agitate for it, he said.

While the Congress would cooperate with the government in conducting the caste census, the BJP should desist from making unnecessary comments about the party, Mr. Kharge said. “They (the BJP) create confusion in the minds of the people, but claim that they are the only people interested in the country’s welfare. It is bogus,” the Congress leader said.

When asked whether the announcement was aimed at the upcoming Assembly election in Bihar, he refused to go into the politics of it. “I welcome whatever is good and oppose whatever we don’t agree with. The country and its people are more important. This decision by the government has come following our agitations and we are happy with the decision,” Mr. Kharge said.