The Centre has decided the caste enumeration should be included in the forthcoming census. Union Railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw shared the information on April 30 during a press briefing on decisions of cabinet meeting.
“Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs has decided today that Caste enumeration should be included in the forthcoming census,” Ashwini Vaishnaw said.
#WATCH | Delhi | "Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs has decided today that Caste enumeration should be included in the forthcoming census," says Union Minister Ashiwini Vaishnaw on Union Cabinet decisions. pic.twitter.com/0FtK0lg9q7
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‘Caste was not included in all the census operations’
Vaishnaw said, “The Congress governments always opposed the caste census. He said, “Caste was not included in all the census operations conducted since Independence.”
“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,” he further added.
Minister took a dig at Congress
The minister took a dig at the grand old party, saying despite the political parties demanding caste census, the Congress governments conducted a survey of caste instead of caste census.
“It is well understood that Congress and its INDI alliance partners have used the caste census only as a political tool. 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, ” the minister said.
