On Day 1 of Congress’s Raipur plenary, Kharge calls for nationwide caste census

The party president was addressing the subject committee, which had convened to discuss six resolutions that will be tabled to the plenary over the next two days.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and party leaders Sonia and Rahul Gandhi in Raipur for the plenary session | Twitter/@kharge

Raipur: Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge called for a nationwide caste census as the party’s 85th plenary session kicked off Friday.

Addressing the subject committee of the plenary, which had convened to discuss six resolutions that will be tabled to the plenary over the next two days, Kharge said a caste census is a must. 

According to Congress General Secretary in-charge Jairam Ramesh, the party president made the remark during his 10-12 minute opening address at the beginning of the 130-member subject committee’s meeting.

“The Congress president said in his address today that caste-based census is a must. This is an important step for social justice and social empowerment. The PM is quiet on the caste-based census, but we are talking about this issue in our plenary,” Ramesh told reporters after the meeting.

He added that this was a demand of the party going up to the 2024 polls. “A census in any one state, as per me, holds no value.”