Unwarranted delay in conducting Census hurting many social policies: Cong

Congress had said it is highly disappointing that Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's Budget speech made no mention of releasing funds for the decadal population census

The Congress on Thursday hit out at the Modi government for not getting the decadal Census done, saying this "unwarranted delay" is hurting many social policies and programmes.

Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh shared a media report on X which said that with the decadal Census exercise pending since 2021 and unlikely to be conducted this year, at least two other key reports on births and deaths in the country have not been released by the Union Home Ministry for the past five years.

"This unwarranted delay in conducting the decadal Census, due in 2021 but still not conducted, is hurting many social policies and programmes - including reservations for scheduled castes and scheduled tribes, and food security entitlements," Ramesh said on X.

The Congress on Saturday had said it is "highly disappointing" that Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's Budget speech made no mention of releasing funds for the decadal population census.

The party had pointed out that the government's failure to conduct the census on time has serious consequences on the state's administrative capabilities.

Ramesh had said this also means that the government will most certainly continue to avoid a socio-economic caste census.

"It is highly disappointing that the Finance Minister's Budget Speech made no mention of releasing funds for the decadal Population Census that was supposed to have taken place in 2021, but has still not been conducted," Ramesh had said in a post on X.

This is the first time since Independence that the government has failed to conduct a Census on time, he had said.

"The consequences on the state's administrative capabilities are serious one example being the 10-12 crore individuals who have been excluded from the ambit of the National Food Security Act/Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana.

"It also means that the Government will most certainly continue to avoid a Socio-Economic Caste Census," Ramesh had said.