The Congress on June 10 claimed that 14 crore people have been deprived of the benefits under the National Food Security Act (NFSA) as the list of beneficiaries has not been updated because the decadal census did not take place in 2021.
In a social media post, Congress general secretary (Communication) Jairam Ramesh said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has to tell the country soon when the updated census will be conducted. He also demanded that the census provide data on the population of communities categorised under Other Backward Classes (OBC) to give “true” meaning to social justice enshrined in the Constitution.
Mr. Ramesh asserted that a comprehensive census is essential for socio-economic development, noting that the last census was to be completed in 2021. “But Mr. Modi did not get it done. One immediate consequence of not having census 2021 conducted is that at least 14 crore Indians are being deprived of benefits under the National Food Security Act, 2013, repackaged as PM Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana,” he said.
“The ‘one-third’ Prime Minister has to tell the country soon when the updated census will be conducted. The decennial Census has since 1951 provided data on the population of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes,”he added.
In the run-up to the elections, the promise of conducting a nationwide caste census was a major campaign plank for the Congress party and its manifesto had promised one if it came to power.
