Congress leaders Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday (August 25, 2026) over the caste census issue.
The letter further asked for the current questionnaire to be cancelled. Mr. If the same caste is recorded under different names and sub-castes, the data will be scattered, and the biggest loss will be to OBCs, most backward, and deprived communities. Our demand is clear – the current questionnaire should be canceled, a new questionnaire should be prepared based on a verified list of castes, and extensive consultation should be done with political parties, experts, and the public.”
The letter said the government has opted for open-ended question format to record caste details in census, which is misleading. In a post on X, the Congress leaders said, “Your govt has opted for open-ended question format to record caste details in census, which is misleading”. Briefing reporters on the letter written in Hindi by Kharge and Gandhi on August 20, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said the government’s current efforts towards a caste census are just a “whitewash”. Kharge’s post further said, “It is not possible to accurately count castes through open-ended questions.
