New Delhi : Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge and Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi today, Tuesday, August 25. In this letter, Kharge and Rahul urged the government to change the method used to collect caste-related information during the census.

The Congress argues that the current census method could yield erroneous data. Describing the existing questionnaire as misleading, party leaders have demanded its withdrawal.

In the letter to Prime Minister Modi, both leaders wrote, “Accurate caste data is essential for implementing social justice policies. Without accurate data, social justice policies cannot be effectively implemented in India.”

Kharge and Rahul objected to the use of ‘open-ended questions’ (questions without a fixed set of answers) for recording caste information. Under this system, individuals can state the name of their caste, which is then recorded on the form.

The Congress leaders stated, “The same caste may be known by different names, sub-castes, or local designations in various parts of India. If these distinct names are recorded separately, a single caste could end up being fragmented into thousands of different names.”

In their letter to the government, Kharge and Rahul noted, “This method could lead to the creation of a vast number of caste categories, making it difficult to utilize the data obtained from the caste census.”

The leaders further wrote, “If the exact number of members belonging to a community is not recorded, any assessment of its status will be flawed. Inaccurate data could adversely affect backward, extremely backward, and other marginalized communities.”

Expressing concern over the lack of clarity regarding the size of the country’s Other Backward Classes (OBC) population, Rahul and Kharge wrote, “We will not even be able to determine the actual size of the OBC population in India.” He stated that the term ‘Backward Class’ is not included in the census process.

Report – Abhijit Tushar Bhatt ( Political Editor)