Modi Government Announces Caste-Based Census

The central government, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has made a significant decision. Following a high-level meeting of the super cabinet, Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw provided details of the decision. He stated, “The Congress government has always opposed a caste-based population census. Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had instructed to recognize such a census. Many political parties supported the move, but the Congress only wanted a survey of caste, not a full population count based on caste. This clearly indicates that they use caste-based data for political gains.”

The Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs is referred to as the “Super Cabinet” because it includes senior-most ministers of the Union Cabinet. Current members of the CCPA include Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Home Minister Amit Shah, Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, and Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal.