Chandigarh, August 25, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
Senior Congress leader and MP Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa on Tuesday said an inaccurate caste census could adversely affect the share, representation and entitlements of OBCs, extremely backward communities and other deprived sections.
Randhawa said the caste census was not merely an exercise in counting population but was directly linked to rights, representation and social justice. He stressed that reliable caste data was essential for determining the actual population share of disadvantaged communities and framing policies accordingly.
Supporting the concerns raised by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi in their joint letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Randhawa said Congress supported the caste census but wanted the exercise to be conducted through an accurate, transparent and authenticated process.
He particularly questioned the use of open-ended questions for recording caste identities. According to Randhawa, differences in caste names arising from regional usage, dialects and sub-castes could fragment the data and make it difficult to arrive at an accurate assessment of OBC and other backward communities.
Randhawa said Congress had proposed withdrawing the existing questionnaire and preparing a fresh one based on a verified caste list. He also called for consultations with political parties, social experts, backward-class organisations and the public before finalising the methodology.
He said the purpose of the caste census should extend beyond population enumeration and provide a credible basis for decisions relating to reservations, welfare schemes and allocation of resources.
Randhawa urged the Centre to consider the suggestions made by Kharge and Rahul Gandhi and introduce necessary changes to ensure that the exercise produces reliable data and serves its intended objective of social justice.
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