Overview
- Congress leader Jairam Ramesh, in a post on Sunday, said the Centre wants to put the caste census "in cold storage" and accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of misleading the country.
- Ramesh traced a shifting record, noting the government told the Lok Sabha on July 20, 2021, and affirmed to the Supreme Court on September 21, 2021, that it would not count caste beyond Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, before announcing on April 30, 2025, that caste data would be included in the next census.
- The Registrar-General and Census Commissioner said at a March 30, 2026 press briefing that most Census 2027 results would be available in 2027 due to a fully digital process, which Ramesh contrasted with Bihar and Telangana finishing state caste surveys in under six months.
- He alleged the government plans to amend Article 334-A, a provision that ties the start of women's seat reservations to a new census and redrawing of constituencies, which he said would push caste data release back by years; the government has not publicly responded in the coverage.
- Opposition parties are now organizing a joint strategy for the April 16–18 special Parliament session, with Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge expected to convene leaders on April 15 as the government prepares bills linked to women's reservation and delimitation.