News Analysis India

Tag: Census 2021

  • Caste census: RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav calls for boycott of national census

    Express News Service

    PATNA: RJD supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav’s call to boycott the National Census 2021 if the central governmen continues to refuse conducting the caste-based census, has now pushed the opposition’s demand for caste-based census towards becoming  a national political issue.

    Bihar’s principal opposition – RJD along with NDA’s three allies in Bihar – JDU, VIP and the HAM  is moving in a very calculated political way ahead the forthcoming Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls in order to make the caste-based census a national issue against the BJP.

    अगर 2021 जनगणना में जातियों की गणना नहीं होगी तो बिहार के अलावा देश के सभी पिछड़े-अतिपिछड़ों के साथ दलित और अल्पसंख्यक भी गणना का बहिष्कार कर सकते है।जनगणना के जिन आँकड़ों से देश की बहुसंख्यक आबादी का भला नहीं होता हो तो फिर जानवरों की गणना वाले आँकड़ों का क्या हम अचार डालेंगे?
    — Lalu Prasad Yadav (@laluprasadrjd) August 11, 2021
    Taking to official Twitter handle, Lalu Prasad Yadav has tweeted in Hindi: “If castes are not counted in the 2021 Census, apart from Bihar, minorities along with all the backward, EBC communities of the country can boycott the Census.”

    Lalu’s call to boycott the census, made to the people of SC (16 per cent), OBCs (nearly 50 per cent), the minority (17 per cent) and EBCs, has sent the BJP think-tank in Bihar into a deep thought over chalking out the ways to downplay Lalu’s call.

    Lalu Prasad Yadav, who is still the most-heard leader in opposition in the public, continued questioning the utility of census if it does not benefit the people in majority in population. “If the data of Census does not benefit the majority of people of population, then what will we do with the Census of animal count,” Lalu tweeted.

    In Bihar, demand for caste-based census has widened the rift between ruling JDU and the BJP to such an extent that hardly a day passes off without any leader either from JDU and the BJP making statement in support of and against the issue.

    “The support of opposition, led by RJD, has given a major twist to this demand and Lalu Prasad Yadav, who has recently met many leaders of opposition like Sharad Pawar, Mulayam Singh Yadav, Sharad Yadav and Om Prakash Chutala, has made the caste census a potential issue against the BJP,” said many political observers including Dr RK Verma in Patna.

    “If this issue is fanned across UP and other poll-bund states and BJP suffers in electoral politics, the same issue will be against the BJP in 2024 LS election to oust Narendra Modi,” they added.

    Recently, Bihar CM Nitish Kumar had already made it clear that his party will not compromise in an alliance w.r.t this issue at all. “The demand for caste-based census has no political connection. It pertains to a social concern. If it is conducted even once in the country, it will benefit everyone,” Nitish Kumar had said recently.

    A letter seeking an appointment with Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also been sent to the PMO by Nitish Kumar to meet him with a delegation over the caste-based census. However, Kumar has got no reply from the PMO over the letter sent with the suggestion of opposition in Bihar.

    Kumar had cited that the Bihar Assembly has passed two resolutions in support of caste-based census and communicated about it to the Centre in 2019 and 2020. Leader of opposition Tejashwi Yadav had also added a new political vigour saying that if trees, animals, vehicles and SC/ST people can be counted, why not the OBC people.

    Many political experts believe that the BJP has fallen in a dilemma having refused to conduct the caste-based census and finding no way to silence the opposition and hence, making the issue as a major national issue.

    In national political scenario, even BSP supremo Mayawati has also said that if the BJP takes any creative approach on the issue, her party will be in support of that

    Meanwhile, some reliable sources from opposition side said that the entire opposition is being polarised to come together over the caste census, the new population policy and the Pegasus scandal against BJP ahead of UP polls.

    “If we succeed in damaging the BJP over all these issues in Uttar Pradesh polls, on power can help Narendra Modi to continue in power after 2024 LS elections. We are getting polarised,” said a reliable opposition source.

  • Census 2021 related field activities postponed due to COVID-19: Government

    Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai said in a written reply to a query in Lok Sabha that census 2021 was to be conducted under the provisions of the Census Act of 1948 in two phases.

  • Delayed due to COVID-19, Census work may begin this year, says MHA

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: Fieldwork related to housing conditions and amenities for Census 2021, delayed due to the Coronavirus pandemic, is likely to start this year with the government sharing with a parliamentary panel a broad five-year item-wise distribution of activities related to the decennial exercise.

    The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Home Affairs, headed by Congress MP Anand Sharma, in its report on the Demands for Grants for the ministry, said as per the broad item-wise and year-wise distribution of activities for the census, the conduct of pre-test for census and National Population Register (NPR) to test-check the mobile app and CMMS portal has been done during 2020-21.

    The fieldwork for the first phase of census 2021 will be carried out during 2021-22 even though timelines are yet to be finalised, the government told the panel, as per the report.

    During this phase, data on housing conditions, household amenities and assets possessed by the households will be collected.

    This phase of the census work was supposed to be carried out from April 2020 to September 2020 but it could not be done due to the pandemic.

    As per the revised schedule, fieldwork for the population enumeration phase of the census will be carried out in 2022-23 even though no timelines has been fixed yet.

    The population enumeration was supposed to be carried out from February 9 to 28, 2021 with a revision round from March 1 to 5, 2021.

    This crucial part of the census was also could not be carried due to the pandemic.

    During 2022-23, census work on demography, religion, SC and ST population, language, literacy and education, economic activity, migration and fertility will also be carried out.

    In 2023-24, results of the provisional census data, primary census abstracts (PCA) providing village-level data on important indicators will be released.

    In 2024-25, census tables (more than 250 data tables), dissemination of census data customised visualisation tool will be released, besides carrying out other census-related activities.

    The committee, during its meeting, sought to know from the Ministry of Home Affairs about the reasons for the drastic decrease in allocation from Rs. 4,568.00 crore in Budget Estimate (BE) 2020-21 to Rs 3,768.28 crore in BE 2021-22.

    The MHA replied that the funds under BE 2020-21 were kept for various activities of the ensuing decennial census 2021 to be conducted in two phases.

    The first phase from house listing and housing census from April 2020 to September 2020 and the second phase namely population enumeration from February 9 to 28, 2021 with a revision round from March 1 to 5, 2021.

    The National Population Register (NPR) was also to be updated along with the first phase of the census.

    The Union Cabinet has approved Rs 8,754.23 crore for the conduct of the census and Rs 3,941.35 crore for updating of the NPR.

    The funds kept would be incurred towards various census preparatory activities like training to 30 lakh field functionaries, the printing of census and NPR material, assistance to States in terms of Technical Manpower.

    However, due to the outbreak of COVID-19, the first phase of census, update of the NPR and other related field activities have been postponed and accordingly, the allocation for 2020-21 was reduced to Rs 755.00 crore at Revised Estimate (RE) stage, the report said.