"Better late than never": Jairam Ramesh after Union Cabinet's decision to include Caste enumeration in forthcoming census

New Delhi [India], April 30 (ANI): Congress MP Jairam Ramesh took a dig at the BJP-led Central government over the Union Cabinet's decision that caste enumeration will be included in the forthcoming census.
In a post on X, Jairam said that this was already said in the recent Congress resolution, passed in Ahmedabad.
"This was said in the recent Congress resolution on social justice, which was passed in Ahmedabad on 9 April 2025. better late than never," the Congress MP said.
The Congress resolution on social justice, passed during the AICC convention in Ahmedabad stated, "In the year 1995, the Congress party took a significant step towards social justice through the First Constitutional Amendment. Now, this responsibility has been taken up by Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge and champion of social justice Rahul Gandhi. To further strengthen the foundation of social justice, a caste-based census is essential. The findings of the Socio-Economic Caste Census conducted by the Congress in 2011 have still not been published by the Modi government."
The resolution further emphasized that the Congress party is committed to enacting a central law to give legal status to the SC-ST sub-plan and to ensure budgetary allocation based on the population of these communities.
"We are determined to remove the artificially imposed 50 per cent cap on reservations for SC, ST, and OBC communities so that they can receive the full benefits of social justice. The Congress party is also committed to implementing the constitutional right to reservation for SCs, STs, and OBCs in private educational institutions, as provided under Article 15(5) of the Constitution. Our commitment to the welfare of these deprived and oppressed sections of society is unwavering -- yesterday, today, and tomorrow," the resolution stated.
Earlier today, briefing the media about the decisions taken by the Union Cabinet, Information and Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said that some states have done caste surveys and conducting a census is in the domain of the central government.
He said Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs (CCPA) has decided today that caste enumeration should be included in the forthcoming census.
Vaishnaw alleged that Congress governments "have always opposed caste census".
"Caste was not included in all the census operations conducted since independence. In 2010, the then Prime Minister Manmohan Singhji had assured the Lok Sabha that the matter of caste census would be considered in the cabinet. A group of ministers was formed to consider this subject. Most political parties recommended a caste census. Despite this, the Congress government decided to conduct only a survey of caste instead of a census. That survey is known as SECC," Vaishnaw said.
Vaishnaw said this will strengthen the social and economic structure of the society while the nation continues to progress.
"Under the leadership of PM Modi, the Cabinet Committee of Political Affairs has decided today that Caste enumeration should be included in the forthcoming census. This demonstrates that the government is committed to the values and interests of the society and the country," he said. (ANI)