The Wire Staff 
New Delhi: The Centre is likely to conduct the Census – which is already delayed by a few years – next year and it will be completing the process by 2026.
Suggestions will also be taken on whether caste enumeration will be a part of the Census exercise, reported The Indian Express. Quoting sources, the newspaper said that the government will go ahead with the delimitation exercise after the Census is completed, followed by the rolling out of women’s reservation.
Recently, the tenure of Mrityunjay Kumar Narayan, the Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India, was extended beyond this December till August 2026.
The opposition Congress attacked the BJP government in the Centre, saying that while the Census, which was originally due in 2021, is set to be conducted, there is “absolutely no clarity on two crucial issues.”
“Will this new Census include a detailed enumeration of ALL castes in the country, in addition to that of scheduled castes and scheduled tribes that has been done in every Census since 1951? According to the Constitution of India, such a Caste Census is the sole responsibility of the Union Government,” Congress general secretary and in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh posted on X.
“Will this Census be used for determining the strength of each state in the Lok Sabha as provided for in Article 82 of the Constitution of India (which says that the first Census taken after the year 2026 and the publication of its results will the basis of any such reconstitution)? Will this work to the disadvantage of states that have been pioneers in family planning?” added Ramesh.
The Congress leader said that an all-party meeting should be held soon to get clarity on these two issues.