Guwahati: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has welcomed the Union Cabinet’s decision to include caste enumeration in the next census.
”We welcome #Census 2025, which will further strengthen the agenda of social justice and is a tribute to Dr Ram Manohar Lohia, Jan Nayak Karpoori Thakur and several other greats,” the chief minister posted on X.
He said, ”The Modi government has always stood for the representation and rights of our backward communities.”
On Wednesday, the Union government announced that caste enumeration would be included in the next census exercise in a “transparent” manner.
The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) attributed the decision to the government’s social justice agenda, but the Opposition said its sustained pressure forced the administration to buckle on a sensitive topic that was a key issue of the 2024 general election campaign.
The Congress and other opposition parties have been vociferously demanding a nationwide caste census, making it a major election issue, and some states like Bihar, Telangana and Karnataka have conducted such surveys.
The government decision comes ahead of assembly elections in Bihar, where several parties, including some BJP allies, have been coming out in support of the caste census.
Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said the census comes under the purview of the Centre, but some states have done caste enumeration in the name of surveys “non-transparently” which has created doubts in the society.
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“Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the cabinet committee of political affairs has decided that caste enumeration should be included with the forthcoming census,” the Union minister said.
“It demonstrates that the government is committed to the values and interests of the society.”
