Cong questions govt's intention

Congress general secretary Sachin Pilot said the objective cannot just be to collect data on an individual's caste but to understand the living conditions of these families and create policies to substantially improve their livelihoods

- PRESS TRUST OF INDIA

The Congress Tuesday accused the Centre of delaying the caste census, saying its intention appears to be to "buy time, grab headlines and manage the narrative", and asked the government to be transparent about the exercise.

Congress general secretary Sachin Pilot said the objective cannot just be to collect data on an individual's caste but to understand the living conditions of these families and create policies to substantially improve their livelihoods.

He said there are doubts about the government's intentions on the caste census and pointed out that the required funding for the census is Rs 10,000 crore whereas the government has allocated only Rs 574 crore. His remarks come a day after a Home Ministry spokesperson made it clear that the census will include caste enumeration, following the Congress' charge that the government notification is "silent" on the inclusion of caste in the exercise.