New Delhi, September 8: The Congress party criticized the Narendra Modi government on Friday for its failure to carry out the decennial Census, originally due in 2021, and raised concerns that approximately 14 crore Indians could be excluded from their entitlements to food due to this delay.
Jairam Ramesh, the Congress general secretary (communications), characterized the Modi government as “inept and incompetent” and described the failure to conduct the Census as an unprecedented setback in the nation’s history.
Ramesh pointed out that even other developing countries within the G20 bloc, such as Indonesia, Brazil, and South Africa, managed to conduct their Census despite the challenges posed by COVID-19.
The Congress party demanded that the BJP-led government cease depriving 14 crore Indians of their basic rights under the National Food Security Act (NFSA) and increase the beneficiary quota until the Census is completed. Furthermore, the Congress urged for the conduct of an updated national caste census and called for an end to opposition efforts against state-level caste census initiatives.
Ramesh emphasized the significance of the G20 summit, highlighting that it revealed one of the major shortcomings of the NDA (No Data Available) government, which failed to carry out the decennial Census due in 2021. He stated that this failure led to an estimated 14 crore Indians being excluded from their food entitlements, as reported by “Outlook Business.”
Ramesh argued that this exclusion represents a denial of a fundamental right guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution, which was implemented by the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government through the NFSA. Under the NFSA, 67% of Indians are entitled to ration. However, due to the Modi government’s inability to conduct the Census in 2021, it has only extended NFSA coverage to 81 crore people based on the 2011 Census, while the current population estimate suggests 95 crore Indians are entitled to it. Consequently, new beneficiaries have not been added, and people have been denied their rights for at least two years.
The Supreme Court acknowledged this issue in July 2022 and directed the government to rectify the situation using population projections. However, no changes have been made to date.
Ramesh criticized the Modi government for not only failing to conduct the Census but also for suppressing the Socio-Economic Caste Census conducted by the UPA government in 2011. He accused the government of opposing a state-level caste census in the Supreme Court, stressing the importance of establishing a caste count and categorization to ensure development and social justice for all Indians.
Ramesh contended that there is a pattern of the Modi government discrediting, discarding, or discontinuing data collection when it is inconvenient to its narrative. He cited various examples, including the suppression of National Sample Survey (NSS) data, discontinuation of the Employment-Unemployment Survey of the Labour Bureau, and the absence of data on critical issues such as mob lynching, GDP, migrant worker deaths, COVID-19 warrior deaths, and farmer suicides.
The Congress demanded that the Modi government stop denying 14 crore Indians their basic rights under the NFSA and increase the beneficiary quota until the Census is conducted. The party also called for the government to conduct an updated national caste census and cease opposition to state-level caste census efforts. Lastly, the Congress urged the government to end the suppression of inconvenient data, restore faith in India’s statistical system, and maintain transparency in reporting key indicators.
