Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Friday said with India becoming the most populous country in the world, a socio-economic caste census is very important to ensure social justice.
He alleged the BJP is afraid of a caste census which is the "need of the hour" to ensure that proportionate reservation is provided to other backward classes and the benefits of social welfare schemes reach them.
"Now that India has become the most populous country in the world, two issues are very important for our public welfare schemes and the progress of the country - Census 2021, probably postponed till 2024. Why so? Implementation of government schemes is very difficult without census data.
"Caste census data is very important for social justice. In the General Census, the population of SC, ST class is known but not of OBC class, due to which the correct proportion of their reservation has not been decided," he said in a series of tweets.
Kharge said a 'Socio-Economic Caste Census' means caste census should be an integral part of the Census. "This is the demand of the Congress."
"If ministers of the Modi government and their entire ecosystem keep shedding crocodile tears for the ostensible welfare of the OBC class, then why don't they get the caste census and Census 2021 done together immediately," he asked.
He said after a 2022 decision of the Supreme Court, reservation in local bodies is to be decided according to the population of different castes.
"If the BJP is concerned about the OBC class, then carry out a caste census in the postponed Census 2021 itself and provide proportionate reservation to the OBCs.
"Why is the BJP afraid of caste census? The caste census that took place in 2011-12, welfare schemes like the Food Security Act became possible on its basis," he said.
The Congress chief said in 2015, the Modi government started the work of classification of castes by forming the Arvind Panagariya Committee. "Why was this done and where is its report?" he asked.
The Congress and other opposition parties have raised the demand for a socio-economic caste census and are set to make it a poll issue in the coming days.