Congress President Kharge wrote a letter to PM Modi.
New Delhi: Congress party president Mallikarjun Kharge has written a letter to PM Modi. In this letter, he has shared three points to consider caste census. It is written in the letter, “I wrote a letter to you on 16 April 2023, demanding the Indian National Congress to conduct a caste census. It is a matter of regret that I did not get any response to that letter. After that, you have constantly attacked the leaders of your party and the leaders of your party to raise this legitimate demand on the leadership of the Congress party and the Congress.
Kharge gave three suggestions
Kharge, informing about his views, further wrote in the letter, “You have announced without any clear details that the next census (which was actually to be in 2021) will also include caste as a separate category. I have three suggestions in this regard, which you should consider.
- The design of the questionnaire related to the census is very important. Caste information should be collected not only for counting but to achieve broad socio-economic goals. The recently concluded caste survey in Telangana was designed and implemented keeping in mind the same objectives. The Union Home Ministry should use the Telangana model for questionnaires and questions asked in the census. Nothing should be hidden in the report to be published at the end of the end of the process so that complete socio-economic figures of each caste are publicly available, so that their socio-economic progress can be measured from one census to another census and can be given constitutional rights.
- In August 1994, Tamil Nadu’s Reservation Act Act was included in the ninth list of our Constitution. Similarly, the Acts related to reservation passed by all states should be included in the ninth list of the Constitution. Apart from this, whatever results of caste census come, it is clear that the maximum limit of arbitrary 50% on reservation for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes will have to be removed through constitutional amendment.
- Article 15 (5) was implemented in the Indian Constitution from 20 January 2006. It was then challenged in the Supreme Court. After long deliberations, the Supreme Court upheld it on 29 January 2014. The decision came just before the Code of Conduct came into force for the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. It provides for reservation for scheduled castes, scheduled tribes and OBCs in private educational institutions. In its 364th report on the demand for grant for Higher Education Department, which was presented on 25 March 2025. The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Education, Women, Children, Youth and Sports had also recommended to enact new laws to implement Article 15 (5). “
Appeal to dialogue to all parties
Apart from this, Kharge wrote, “Any process like caste census, which becomes a medium to empower backward, underprivileged and marginalized people, should not be considered divisive in any form. Our great nation and our vast hearts have always stood united in adverse circumstances. Recently, after the abusive terrorist attacks in Pahalgam, we all showed the social and economic judiciary. And to ensure the equality of the opportunity, it is very important to do the above suggested manner.
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