Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge on Tuesday expressed concern over the “record delay” in conducting the decadal census and urged the government to start it at the earliest along with the caste census.
During Zero Hour, the Congress leader said India had been conducting a census every 10 years since 1881 despite wars, emergencies and other crises.
He recalled that in 1931, a caste census was conducted along with the regular census.
Even during major events like World War II and the India-Pakistan war of 1971-72, the census was conducted, he said.
“It is unfortunate that for the first time in history, the government has made a record delay (in conducting the census),” Kharge said.
The regular census is conducted every 10 years. It was last held in 2011. The 2021 census was delayed due to the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic. The government is yet to declare the schedule of the next census.
The decadal census collects data on population, language, religion, employment and certain economic assets. It also collects data on Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST).
Kharge said a caste census could be conducted along with the general census as the government, which already collects data on SCs and STs, could do so for other castes
as well.
“But the government is silent on both the decadal census and the caste census,”
he said.
Kharge said the government had allocated only ₹575 crore in the budget for 2025-26 for the regular census, which was not enough for the exercise.
The Congress leader said the delay in the census had serious consequences as a large number of people were being left out of welfare schemes.
He said several crucial surveys and welfare programmes such as the Consumer Survey, National Family Health Survey, Periodic Labour Force Survey, National Food Security Act and the National Social Assistance Programme relied on census data.
“Due to this delay, crores of citizens have been out of the reach of welfare schemes. Policymakers do not have the necessary and reliable data to make important decisions. Therefore, I request the government that the work on the decadal census and the caste census should start immediately,” Kharge said.
During a discussion on the functioning of the home ministry in the Rajya Sabha on March 21, several Opposition parties had criticised the government for the delay in conducting the census.