'Serious doubts on intent': Congress attacks Centre over caste census format; cites Telangana model

NEW DELHI: The Congress on Friday questioned the Centre's approach to caste enumeration in the upcoming Census, saying the decision not to provide a pre-prepared list of castes for respondents to choose from raised “serious doubts on intent”. The party also alleged that political parties had not been consulted on the questionnaire.Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said it was widely expected that the caste question would include a state-wise list, similar to the caste surveys conducted in Bihar and Telangana, with respondents required to tick the appropriate option.“This has, unfortunately, not happened, raising serious doubts on intent,” Ramesh said in a post on X.Ramesh also shared Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge's May 5, 2025 letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the caste census, saying Kharge's “very first and fundamental suggestion” had been ignored.Kharge had urged the government to draw on the Telangana caste survey model while finalising the Census questionnaire and had also called for consultations with all political parties.He had argued that caste data should not be collected merely for counting communities but should help achieve wider socio-economic objectives.The Centre on Friday notified 40 questions to be asked during the population enumeration phase of Census 2027, including questions on caste and the place of Covid vaccination, news agency ANI reports.A government notification said respondents would be asked whether they belonged to a Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe and, separately, about their caste. Sources said the questionnaire is unlikely to carry a pre-prepared list of castes, with responses instead being recorded as provided by respondents.This will be the first time caste details are being collected as part of the decennial Census.