Congress Chief Kharge wrote to Prime Minister Modi asking him to have a dialogue with all parties on caste census

Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge, president of Congress and opposition leader. |Photo source: PTI

Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, asking the government to have a dialogue with all parties on the caste-cycle dialogue, even as he urges the Modi government to follow the Telangana caste survey model of the national census.

Mr. Hager also asked the government not to “hide anything” in the final caste census and to place socioeconomic data for each caste in the public sphere. He also reiterated the party's position to remove the 50% booking cap by amending the constitution.

“I would actually ask you to have a dialogue with all political parties on the caste census,” Mr. Kharge made public on May 5 (May 6, 2025) in his letter.

Speaking about the importance of questionnaire design, he said: “The Ministry of the Interior of the union must draw on the Telangana model, which is the method to finally raise the questionnaire, and the questions that ultimately raise it.”

The congressional head added: “There is nothing to be covered in the final release so that full socio-economic data for each caste can be provided to provide them with constitutional rights and that socio-economic progress can be measured from one census to another.”

Mr. Hargh noted that only the Tamil Nadu reservation law was protected in the ninth timetable of the Constitution, Mr. Hargh said: “The laws of other countries should also be included in the ninth timetable of our Constitution”.

He added: “regardless of the outcome of the caste census, it is obvious that arbitrarily imposed 50% of the ceiling for the pre-determined caste, pre-determined tribe and OBC bookings must be removed through the constitutional amendment.”

The Commissioner of Congress also reiterated the necessary conditions for the implementation of Article 15, paragraph 5, which also provides bookings for the pre-determined caste, pre-determined tribe and OBC of private educational institutions.

He noted: “On March 25, 2025, the Parliamentary Committee on Education, Women, Children, Youth and Sports submitted its 364th report on the needs of the Ministry of Higher Education grants on March 25, 2025.”

The head of Congress recalls how the Prime Minister and his colleagues “attacked” Congress and raised the question of social justice, asserting that the caste census is “absolutely necessary to ensure social and economic justice and equality of status and opportunity promised under our constitutional rule.”

Mr. Hargi noted: “Practice any exercise, such as the caste census, that puts the backward, oppressed and marginalized parts of our society to them, should not be regarded as division in any way.”