Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Member of Parliament and spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi on Tuesday took aim at the Congress party, accusing it of consistently overlooking key national matters and misleading the public on sensitive issues such as the caste census. Addressing a press conference, Trivedi stated that under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Union Cabinet has taken a significant step by approving a comprehensive national census that, for the first time in independent India’s history, will also include a social, economic, and caste-based enumeration.
Trivedi said that the Modi government is focused on inclusive development and firmly upholds the principle of "Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas." He accused Congress of having a long-standing habit of ignoring crucial decisions, referencing issues such as Operation Sadbhavna and the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). According to him, Congress is now attempting to mislead the public about the caste census by wrongly portraying developments in Telangana, where only a state-level survey is being conducted—not a full census.
He clarified that only the Centre has the legal authority to conduct a caste census, while states can only carry out surveys. He also criticised the Congress for keeping political power restricted within a single family for decades and for failing to support real economic development during its time in power.
Trivedi reiterated that the BJP supports dignity and upliftment for all castes and accused the Congress of taking a contradictory stance. He said the Congress party, despite ruling the country for more than thirty years, never allowed leaders outside of one family to rise and is now creating false narratives around the caste census. He pointed out that the Congress’s so-called "Khata Khat" model in states where it has come to power has become a serious obstacle to the country's broader development.
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His comments came a day after the central government officially notified the population census, which is scheduled to begin in March 2027. According to the gazette notification issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs, the census will be conducted under the powers granted by Section 3 of the Census Act, 1948.
The notification supersedes an earlier one issued on March 26, 2018. The reference date for most of the country will be March 1, 2027, while for the Union Territory of Ladakh, snow-bound areas of Jammu and Kashmir, and the states of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, the reference date will be October 1, 2026.
The census will be conducted in two phases. The first phase, known as the House Listing Operation (HLO), will involve collecting data on housing conditions, assets, and household amenities. The second phase, the Population Enumeration (PE), will gather detailed demographic, socio-economic, cultural, and caste-related data of every individual in the country. The forthcoming census will also include a caste enumeration component, making it the first such exercise at a national level.
Around 34 lakh enumerators and supervisors, along with 1.3 lakh other census officials, will be deployed across the country for the massive operation. It will be the 16th census since its inception and the 8th to be conducted after India’s independence. The 2027 census will be carried out digitally for the first time using mobile applications, and citizens will also have the option of self-enumeration. The government has stated that stringent data security protocols will be put in place to protect personal information throughout the stages of data collection, transmission, and storage.
Trivedi concluded by reiterating the BJP’s stance that the caste census must be approached with responsibility and transparency, ensuring dignity and representation for all caste groups, unlike the Congress’s allegedly opportunistic and misleading approach.
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