Rahul Gandhi, Kharge write letter to PM Modi; asks for current census questionnaire to be cancelled

New Delhi: Objecting to the "misleading" methodology for recording caste in Census 2027 with an open-ended query, top Congress leaders Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi have asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to scrap the existing questionnaire and formulate a new one to ensure Caste Census is "accurate, meaningful, and beneficial".

Leaders of Opposition Kharge (Rajya Sabha) and Rahul (Lok Sabha) referred to the methodology adopted in Bihar and Telangana for caste census in recent years where a list of castes were provided to the enumerators for the exercise and urged Modi to adopt it.

"The caste census should not only be done, it should also be done correctly," Kharge said on 'X'.

Census must retain its compact of trustReleasing the joint letter to the Prime Minister written on August 20, Congress General Secretary (Communication) Jairam Ramesh told a press conference that government's attempts at a caste census are "just a whitewash", as he recalled Modi's April 2024 remarks when he said that Congress' was displaying "urban naxal" mindset by seeking a caste census.