The Congress on Tuesday (August 18, 2026) alleged that the Narendra Modi government wants to sabotage the caste census and asked why the 2027 census does not include a drop-down menu for selecting castes, despite the Centre recommending it in its affidavit to the Supreme Court in September 2021.
“The conclusion is clear: the Modi Government wants to simply sabotage the caste census. He is a U-turn ustad,” Mr. 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.
He said. Ramesh said.
“Now he has done another U-turn on his earlier U-turn and, without saying so, has buried the idea of a caste 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’,” Mr. Mr. Ramesh pointed out.
Congress General Secretary In-Charge Communications Jairam Ramesh highlighted that on September 21, 2021, the Modi government 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 the 2011 Census. Ramesh questioned why the 2027 census does not feature this drop-down menu, which the Modi government had recommended in its affidavit to the Supreme Court in September 2021. This suggestion was also reflected in a letter from the Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge to Prime Minister Modi on May 5, 2025, Mr.
The Opposition party claimed that the Prime Minister made a “complete U-turn” on April 30, 2025, by announcing a caste census, only to now perform a “U-turn on his earlier U-turn”. Ramesh said in a post on X.
