Govt gave headline but where is deadline: Cong on Centre's caste census move
New Delhi, May 1 (PTI): The Congress on Thursday claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is the "master of giving a headline without a deadline" and called the government's caste census decision a "diversionary tactic" in the face of demands for taking strong action against Pakistan following the Pahalgam terror attack.
Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said many questions arise about the decision, especially on the intention of the government, and asked "where is the deadline" for conducting the census.
Taking a swipe at the prime minister at a debriefing at the party's 24, Akbar Road office here, Ramesh said he is the "master at giving a headline without a deadline".
Ramesh also said the BJP government agreeing to a caste census reflected their "moral and political defeat".
"Mr Modi and the RSS have been dead against a caste census from day 1. That is why yesterday Mr Rahul Gandhi said it was a sudden development," he said.
"The PM has taken his biggest U-turn, he took a U-turn on GST, Aadhaar, MGNREGA, food security act and now he has taken a U-turn on caste census. Now we know where Nitish Kumar caught this habit of making U-turns, there's is a 'jugalbandi' of U-turns. There is no parallel of the PM in taking U-turns," Ramesh said.
He said the biggest issue before the country is the Pahalgam attack.
"The biggest issue is how do we deal with terrorism and what response should be given to the mastermind of the terror attack. That is the only issue, all other things are important and their time will come but the main issue is... what response will you give to Pakistan, what justice will you give to the families of the victims," Ramesh said.
Ramesh noted that Prime Minister Modi had vowed to go after the perpetrators of the Pahalgam attack.
"I was thinking that Mohan Bhagwat meeting him, the holding of the CCS and the CCPA are in the context of the Pahalgam attack. I was completely surprised by it (decision of caste census). I could never have imagined that they would do this and that is why I suspect that this is headline management and a diversionary tactic," he said.
Asserting that the barrier of a 50 per cent cap on reservations should be removed, Ramesh asked what is stopping the Modi government from doing this.
The Congress demands that there should be a Constitutional Amendment and the 50 per cent cap on reservations be removed, he said, adding that the caste census would be meaningful only when this is done.
He also urged the government to implement Article 15(5), which pertains to reservations in private educational institutions.
Ramesh cited a December, 2019 Cabinet meeting press release which stated that the Union Cabinet has approved the proposal for conducting the census of India in 2021 at the cost of Rs 8,254 crore.
He pointed out that there was no mention of caste enumeration in that press release.
"Everyone knows that this census has not been done and six years have passed. Surprisingly, the announcement was made by the government yesterday," he said.
Ramesh, however, urged the government to keep a roadmap for the caste census before the country.
In the 2025-26 Budget, only Rs 575 crore has been allocated to the office of the census commissioner, he pointed out.
"So what kind of census are they planning to get done in Rs 575 crore? So what is the intention-- is it just about giving a headline? What is their intention? Many questions arise on the intention," the Congress leader said.
"You should have gotten the census done in 2021. They cite the Covid pandemic but more than 50 countries did their census during Covid. The pandemic was not there in 2023, 2024, but they did not get it done," Ramesh said.
He said when the PM was giving a string of interviews to TV channels last year, he had called those who talk of caste census "urban naxals".
"Since when did he become an urban naxal? Since when did Home Minister Amit Shah become an urban naxal?" Ramesh said.
The Congress leader recalled that in 2011, a socio-economic and caste census was conducted in rural and urban India with information collected from about 25 crore families.
"It is true that information about caste was not published in this survey, because many flaws were found in it. I was a minister myself and I worked hard with the state governments to find out how we could improve the shortcomings we found in each state. But later the elections came, the code of conduct came into force and we could not publish the information," Ramesh said.
He expressed happiness that the information about the social and economic conditions obtained through that survey is being used by the Modi government even today.
"But the information collected on caste during our time was being revised in 2013 and this work was not completed before the elections. Then suddenly the government stopped it and said that we will not do caste census. If the states want to do it, let them do it, but we will not do it," he said.
In the 7th Schedule of our Constitution, the responsibility of conducting the census lies with the central government, but when the governments of Bihar, Telangana and Karnataka did this work, then the government took this decision," Ramesh said.
His remarks come a day after the Centre announced that caste enumeration will be part of the next population census, with the inclusion of caste details for the first time since independence.
#WATCH | Delhi | On Centre's decision to conduct caste census, Congress MP Jairam Ramesh says, "Like Rahul Gandhi said yesterday, 'headline toh de diya, lekin deadline kaha hai? Our PM is an expert in giving headlines without deadlines... In 2025-26, the census commissioner's… pic.twitter.com/g5kYM4hOVK
— ANI (@ANI) May 1, 2025
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SC wants to know if FIRs filed over suicides of IIT student, NEET aspirant
New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court on Tuesday sought to know if FIRs were registered after suicides of a IIT Kharagpur student and a NEET aspirant in Kota, Rajasthan, came to light.
A bench of Justices J B Pardiwala and R Mahadevan directed its registry to call for a report from both places at the earliest.
The top court noted a 22-year-old student studying in IIT, Kharagpur, was found hanging in his hostel room on May 4, 2025.
"The deceased was a three-year civil engineering student. His body was found hanging in his room in the Madan Mohan Malaviya Hall. The student was identified as Mohammad Asif Qamar from Bihar’s Sheohar District," the bench noted.
The top court went on, "The press reporting indicates that just moments before his death, he was on a video call with his friend in Delhi. This is one of those unfortunate suicides by a student for which we have constituted the task-force to work on the various issues relating to students suicide."
The top court previously ordered the formation of a national task force, headed by former top court judge Justice S Ravindra Bhat, to address the mental health concerns of students to prevent suicides in higher educational institutions.
The apex court said it was taking cognisance of the matter with a view to ascertain whether the management or administration of IIT, Kharagpur lodged an FIR with the local police station in accordance with its earlier directions.
It also took into account another case of suicide by a NEET aspirant who hanged herself at her room in Parshavanath area in the city ahead of the National Medical Entrants Examination scheduled on May 11.
"It is reported that the girl was under 18 years of age and hailed from Sheopur in Madhya Pradesh. She had been living with her parents in Kota (Rajasthan) and for the past several years, she was preparing for NEET-UG at a coaching institute," the court added.
The bench observed it was reportedly the fourteenth case of suicide by a coaching student in Kota, Rajasthan in 2025.
"Since January, 2025, a total of 17 cases of suicides by coaching students were reported in Kota last year. We would like to know whether an FIR has been registered in connection with this suicide also or not," the bench said.
The matter then was posted on May 13.
Outlining a disturbing pattern of student suicides in educational institutions, the apex court on March 24 directed Delhi Police to register an FIR and probe the suicidal deaths of two IIT-Delhi students from the SC/ST community.
Saying it was "high time" that it took cognisance of the "serious issue", the court ordered formulation of comprehensive and effective guidelines to address and mitigate the underlying causes contributing to such distress among students.
The bench directed the Centre to deposit Rs 20 lakh with the registry within two weeks as an outlay for the initial operations of the NTF.
Noting a "disturbing pattern" of student suicides were being reported from various educational institutes, the apex court said these tragedies underscored the urgent need for a more robust, comprehensive and responsive mechanism to address various factors which compel students to resort to taking their own lives.
