Congress constitutes panel to study matters related to caste census

Senior leader M Veerappa Moily will be its convenor

In the backdrop of the caste-based census turning out to be a battle cry of political parties ahead of Assembly polls in six states, the Congress on Friday set up a special group headed by senior party leader M Veerappa Moily to study the contentious issue.

A party communique by AICC general secretary (organisation) K C Venugopal said Congress President Sonia Gandhi has constituted the committee to "study the matters related to caste census" with immediate effect.

Senior party leaders Salman Khurshid, Mohan Prakash, RPN Singh and P L Puniya (from Uttar Pradesh) and Kuldeep Bishnoi and party spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi are members of the committee.

In Uttar Pradesh, where polls are expected in March next year, both Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party have already backed caste census while conflicting voices have been heard from the BJP, while the Congress has also been treading cautiously on the issue. Many in the two national parties believe that it could open a Pandora's box with competing claims by different OBC castes for bigger representation in quota than what they are already getting.

Also Read — BJP must resolve 'inner conflict' on caste census, says key Nitish Kumar aide

Leader of Opposition in Karnataka Assembly Siddaramaiah had on Tuesday made a strong pitch for a nationwide caste-based census and demanded that it should be undertaken once every 10 years to ensure social justice.

Sidddaramaiah, an architect of AHINDA (losely defining minority communities, backward classes and Dalits) politics, had once again raised the issue ahead of the rural local bodies polls in the state. The next Assembly polls in the state are scheduled in 2023.

Batting for caste census, the senior Congress leader had flagged concern that the current social and economic policies are being implemented based on 90-year-old caste census data, which is not the true reflection of the present demography. He also pointed out that the Congress government led by him in Karnataka had initiated caste census at a cost of Rs 180 crore, a reference to his government in 2015 having commissioning the Social and Educational Survey, or the caste census in the state whose findings were not made public.

For Congress, the issue has ramifications much beyond Karnataka.

Ahead of 2022 Assembly polls in six states, five of which are BJP-ruled, the Opposition parties have latched on to the issue of caste census. Even in Bihar, which borders the poll-bound UP, the issue has seen almost a total unanimity. Chief Minister Nitish Kumar from NDA ally JD(U) had led a delegation from the state having parties including arch rival Lalu Prasad's RJD to the national capital and met Prime Minister Narendra Modi to press for caste census.

Apart from Opposition parties -- SP, BSP RJD, AAP LJD, NCP, DMK BJD -- three NDA allies -- JD(U), RPI(A) led by Ramdas Athavale and Apna Dal led by Anupriya Patel -- have pitched for the caste census even as the central government had on the floor of Parliament said no to it.

Amid the renewed demand for caste census, senior BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi, himself belonging to the OBC community, chose to highlight that most of the steps for welfare of Other Backward Classes took place whenever the BJP was in power. He also chose to flag that the Prime Minister, himself, hails from the extremely backward classes.

The ruling BJP has worries on both counts -- accepting caste census or rejecting it. Hence it has been trying to do a fine balancing act.

On July 20, Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai in a written reply in Lok Sabha had said, "The government of India has decided as a matter of policy not to enumerate caste-wise population other than SCs and STs in census" while noting that the Maharashtra and Odisha governments have requested the Centre to collect caste details in the forthcoming census."

The last caste census was carried out in 1931.