Caste Census Pilot Projects

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday once again advocated for a caste census, saying the exercise will happen in the country and it will show the injustice meted out to Dalits, OBCs and Adivasis. The true meaning of a caste census is justice, he said, adding that his party will also "break the wall of 50 per cent" reservation limit. Addressing the Samvidhan Samman Sammelan in Nagpur ahead of the November 20 Maharashtra assembly elections, the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha hit out at the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), accusing them of attacking the Constitution and thereby attacking the "voice of the country". "Caste census will give justice to general (category), Dalits, Adivasis, minorities, women and all others," he said. "Caste census will make everything clear. Everyone will come to know how much power they wield and what our role is," he said, adding," We will also break the 50 per cent wall." The Constitution ...

The Telangana government is expected to start a caste survey in the state from November 4-5 and it is likely to be completed by November 30, minister Ponnam Prabhakar said on Saturday. Prabhakar was addressing the media after a cabinet meeting during which a proforma for the caste survey was approved. He said the exercise is being taken up in line with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's commitment to conduct a caste survey in the state as well as across the nation. Prabhakar said 80,000 government employees will be roped in for conducting the survey and they will be appropriately trained for it. According to a resolution passed by the Telangana Assembly, the state cabinet has approved the proforma for the caste survey which is expected to be completed by November 30. The actual enumeration, covering every household, is likely to start from November 4 or 5, he said. All the data collected will be kept in public domain, he said. Revenue Minister P Srinivas Reddy said the cabinet also .

Apex court termed 'unconstitutional' rules in jail manuals advocating caste-based work

The government has started preparations for conducting the decadal census, but a decision is yet to be taken on including a column on caste as part of the exercise, sources said on Sunday. Speaking on condition of anonymity, one source said that the decadal census will be conducted soon. India has conducted the census every 10 years since 1881. The first phase of this decade's census was expected to begin on April 1, 2020 but had to be postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The implementation of the Women's Reservation Act, enacted by Parliament last year, too is linked to the conduct of the decadal census. The law reserving one-third of seats for women in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies shall come into effect after an exercise of delimitation is undertaken based on the relevant figures of the first census recorded after the Act has come into force. "This is yet to be decided," the source said when asked about inclusion of a column on caste in the decadal census. The politic

Ever since the Opposition INDIA bloc demanded a caste census, the BJP leadership had taken to talk of welfare of the four 'castes', namely, women, the poor, farmers, and youth

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday said those who call themselves "deshbhakt" are scared of the 'X-ray' of caste census but no force can stop it and his life mission is to secure justice for 90 per cent of population, as he hit back at the BJP amid the row on the issue of wealth redistribution. Addressing the 'Samajik Nyay Sammelan' here, Gandhi said he was targeted by the BJP and the prime minister for just talking about finding how much injustice had been done to 90 per cent of the population. "I am not interested in caste but in 'nyay' (justice). I am saying that gross injustice is being done to 90 per cent of the population. I have not even said till date that we will take any action on that. "I just said let us find out how much injustice is being done. There should be no objection to that. If you get injured and I say that get an X-ray done, no one should object to that," the Congress leader said. The former Congress asserted that it is his life mission to ensure justi

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday launched a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying those who call themselves 'deshbhakt' are scared of the 'X-ray' of caste census but "no force" can stop it. Addressing the 'Samajik Nyay Sammelan' here, Gandhi said he is not interested in caste but in 'nyay' (justice) and asserted that it is his life's mission to ensure justice for the 90 percent of the population against whom injustice has been done. "As soon as our government is formed, the first thing that would be done is a caste census," Gandhi said. He said the Congress manifesto talks about the X-ray and the income inequality created by Modi. Modi has transferred Rs 16 lakh crore to select business people and the Congress is going to return a small amount to the 90 per cent of the population, he said. "We have calculated...what we felt is justice and that help should be given, we put it down in the manifesto," he said of the party's guarantees mentioned in the ...

The Congress on Sunday asserted that a caste census is the only way to ensure equal opportunity for all in the country. Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said caste has been a socio-economic reality of Indian society for centuries. "We cannot deny caste-based discrimination in India and the disadvantages imposed by caste at birth," he said in a post on X. "To make the distribution of economic growth more equitable, we need a survey of the ownership of assets and the representation of people in the institutions of our democracy," Ramesh said. Therefore, what is needed is a caste census combined with a survey of national assets and governance systems, which is updated from time to time, he asserted in the post on X. "This survey of caste groups, national assets, and representation in governance systems -- collectively called a comprehensive socio-economic caste census -- is the only solution to ensure an India with equal opportunity for all," the Congress leader said using the

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's guarantees, Ram temple in Ayodhya, and Congress' demand for a caste census would be among major issues in the BJP-ruled Madhya Pradesh during the ensuing Lok Sabha elections. Lok Sabha polls in Madhya Pradesh will be held in four phases on April 19, April 26, May 7 and May 13. Counting of votes will be held on June 4. Following are the key issues in the state for the Lok Sabha polls: Narendra Modi: If the November 2023 state elections are any indicator, the prime minister would be the ruling party's biggest poll plank. It would highlight Modi ki guarantee (Modi's promises) such as free food grains for the poor, and the achievements of the Union government in the past ten years. Ram temple: The BJP would take credit for the construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya and attack the Congress for turning down the invite to the inauguration ceremony. Congress could try to blunt the criticism by pointing out that the lock of the earlier make-shift Ramlalla

The Andhra Pradesh government on Friday kicked off its comprehensive caste census to enumerate all communities in the state. Information and Public Relations (I & PR) Minister C Srinivasa Venugopala Krishna said the census is scheduled for 10 days from January 19. "The comprehensive caste census is scheduled for 10 days in one phase and if needed, it will be extended by four or five days," Krishna told PTI. The Minister noted that volunteers will visit each and every home to collect the caste details, which will be relayed to the village secretariat system. Andhra Pradesh becomes the second state after Bihar to take up the caste census. Krishna said officials in the village secretariat system across the state will verify the accuracy of information collected by the volunteers and correct it, if necessary, before making the final record. Each volunteer will cater to 50 households. Krishna exuded confidence that the entire census process will be completed before the issuance of th

The Andhra Pradesh government will begin a comprehensive caste census on December 9 to enumerate all castes, Information and Public Relations Minister C Srinivasa Venugopala Krishna said on Friday. Noting that completing the caste census is a major goal of the YSRCP government, the minister said, "It is important to have a caste census to transform the living standards of people". Noting that there has been no caste census in India post independence but only a population census, the minister noted that the government is eliciting opinions from caste representatives across the state, an official press release said. Exuding confidence that the state would conduct the caste census in a fair and comprehensive manner, Krishna said Andhra Pradesh's enumeration exercise will emerge as a role model across the country. He asserted that Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy is renowned for ensuring social justice, and claimed that opposition parties are shivering at the mere mentioning of a

Reiterating his party's demand for a caste census, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday said the day the Other Backward Classes, Dalits and tribals learn about their actual population, the "country will change forever." Speaking at a rally in Chhattisgarh's Bemetara district ahead of the second phase of assembly elections on November 17, he accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of not taking a clear stand on the issue. Modi ji flies in an aircraft worth Rs 12,000 crore and wears new clothes every day. He was elected using the word OBC (on the promise of acting in their interest), and when the time comes to give rights to the OBCs, he says there is no OBC and the poor are the only caste in India. We will find out how many OBCs are there. Whether Narendra Modi carries out a caste census or not, the day the Congress comes to power again in Chhattisgarh, a caste survey will start here....the day our government comes to power in Delhi, the first signature will be on the (order ...

Caste-based reservations may still be required but cannot be the primary approach to ensuring equity

Rahul Gandhi said, "PM Modi and CM Shivraj keep claiming that it is the government of the OBCs. They don't assign any task to that one OBC officer"

Caste census is a revolutionary step that will change the lives of the people, said Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday, stressing that his party will get the survey conducted in Madhya Pradesh as well as at national level if voted to power. Addressing a rally at Satna in MP, where assembly elections will be held on November 17, he also slammed the BJP-led Centre over rising unemployment. After coming to power in the state, the first thing to be done is conducting a caste census to know the exact number of OBCs in Madhya Pradesh. It is like an X-ray which will reveal all (number of other backward classes) and accordingly policies will be framed for their welfare, he said. The Congress will also carry out caste census at the national level if it is brought to power at the Centre, he said, calling the exercise a revolutionary and life-changing step for the people. Gandhi alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi always used to say that he was an OBC but stopped talking about it so

More than a third of families inhabiting Bihar were living in poverty, making do with a monthly income of Rs 6,000 or less, according to a detailed report of the caste survey tabled in the state assembly on Tuesday. The report also acknowledged considerable poverty among the upper castes, though the percentage was, predictably, much higher among backward classes, Dalits and tribals. As per the report, tabled by parliamentary affairs minister Vijay Kumar Chaudhary, the state was home to about 2.97 crore families, out of which more than 94 lakhs (34.13 per cent) were poor. Another important finding was that more than 50 lakh Biharis were living outside the state in search of livelihood or better education opportunities. Those earning a living in other states numbered around 46 lakhs while another 2.17 lakhs have found greener pastures abroad. Those pursuing studies in other states numbered about 5.52 lakhs while about 27,000 were doing the same abroad. Notably, preliminary findings

Caste survey and the strategy for next year's Lok Sabha elections are on the agenda of the Samajwadi Party's state executive meeting being held here on Wednesday. The party's national president Akhilesh Yadav is attending the first meeting of the state executive being held after its formation in August. The Samajwadi Party had dissolved its state and national executives after its defeat in the 2022 Assembly polls. Samajwadi Party national secretary and spokesperson Rajendra Chaudhary told PTI that the Lok Sabha polls, caste survey and ways to bolster the party's support base among the backwards, Dalits and minority (for which Yadav has coined the term PDA) will be discussed in the meeting. Akhilesh Yadav will give the mantra for victory in the Lok Sabha elections to the party leaders in the meeting, he said, adding that the Samajwadi Party aims to defeat the BJP on all 80 seats in Uttar Pradesh. About the party's preparation for the Lok Sabha election, he said, "The Samajwadi Party

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday promised to conduct the caste census in Telangana if his party is voted to power in the state. Addressing corner meetings on the way from Bhupalpally to Peddapalli during the Congress' ongoing 'Vijayabheri' Yatra in the state, where Assembly elections will be held on November 30, he accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao of not speaking on the issue. Rahul Gandhi said the biggest issue in the country is with regard to caste census and termed it an "X-ray" that will throw light on the condition of Dalits, tribals and OBCs, and added it will also determine how the country's funds are being distributed. He asked the people to question Modi and KCR as to when they will conduct the caste census, and said if the Congress is voted to power in Telangana then the first work his party's government will do is to take up "X-ray" in the state. He said Congress-ruled states-Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and Karnata

The CWC meet comes at a time when some opposition leaders are facing heat from central probe agencies and the latest in a series of arrests is of AAP's Sanjay Singh in the Delhi excise policy case

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