Jairam Ramesh slams Centre for 'sabotaging' Census 2027 caste count

Jairam Ramesh accused the Centre of sabotaging the Census 2027 caste count. He alleged a 'U-turn', pointing out that the government is not using a drop-down menu for castes, a method it previously recommended to the Supreme Court in 2021.

Ramesh Accuses Centre of 'Sabotaging' Caste Census

Congress MP Jairam Ramesh on Tuesday renewed its attack on the Centre over the caste enumeration format in Census 2027, alleging that it is trying to "sabotage" the Census by not having a structured drop-down menu despite recommending exactly such a menu to the Supreme Court in 2021. In an X post, the Congress general secretary in-charge of communications cited the Centre's affidavit before the Supreme Court in September 2021, claiming a contradiction in the government's own record on the caste census.

"On September 21, 2021, the Modi Govt had filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court categorically rejecting the plea for a caste census. However, Para 12 (d) in the affidavit says the following: "There was no registry of caste prepared prior to the conduct of 2011 Census. It would have been ideal for the Registry of Castes that there should have been given a drop down menu for selection of the castes which could have made some consistent data available which can be relied upon," he said.

Ramesh noted that such a structured menu was used in both the Bihar and Telangana caste surveys, questioning why there is no such format in Census of India 2027. "The question now is this: why does Census 2027 NOT have this drop down menu that the Modi Government recommended in the affidavit it submitted to the Supreme Court in Sept 2021? Such a menu had, in fact, been prepared prior to the caste surveys both in Bihar and Telangana. Such a menu had also been suggested by the Congress President in his letter to the PM of May 5, 2025. The conclusion is clear: the Modi Govt wants to simply sabotage the caste census. The PM had made a complete U-turn on April 30,2025 and announced that a caste census - which he had earlier attacked as an "urban naxal" idea - would take place. Now he has done another U-turn on his earlier U-turn and without saying so has buried the idea of a caste census. He is an U-turn ustad," he said.

Centre's Stance and Census History

On April 30 last year, the Centre announced to go ahead with caste enumeration in the 2027 population census. The Centre has stated that a comprehensive caste enumeration will be done during the Population Enumeration phase.

Until the 2011 Census, the exercise included the systematic enumeration of only Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs).

Congress President's Suggestions

Earlier in April, Jairam Ramesh also shared Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge's letter to PM Modi offering suggestions on the caste census. Kharge urged the Centre to adopt the "Telangana Model" in conducting the caste-based census.

Expressing concerns, he wrote, "The Prime Minister owes the leadership of the Indian National Congress an apology for his accusation. More importantly, he owes the people of India an explanation of why he allowed his mind to be contaminated by 'urban naxal' thought when he announced a caste census on April 30, 2025."

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