New Delhi: The caste census will be a part of the next national census exercise, Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Wednesday announced, saying a decision to this effect was taken at the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs meeting.
While announcing the big Cabinet decision, Vaishnaw trained guns on the Congress, saying the party always opposed the caste census. He also attacked other INDIA bloc parties, accusing them of using the caste-based population count only to gain political mileage.
“Congress governments have always opposed the caste census. In 2010, the late Dr Manmohan Singh said that the matter of caste census should be considered in the Cabinet. A group of ministers was formed to consider this subject. Most of the political parties have recommended a caste census.” Vaishnaw said.
“It is well understood that the Congress and its INDI alliance partners have used the caste census only as a political tool. Some states have conducted surveys to enumerate castes. While some states have done this well, some others conducted such surveys only from a political angle in a non-transparent way,” he added.
