Caste census: Allocate sufficient funds, fix time limit, Kharge tells centre
_vb_83.jpeg)
Bengaluru (PTI): Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge on Thursday urged for allocation of sufficient funds and fixing of a time limit for the caste enumeration in the next census, which has been announced by the Central government.
The Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha said, Congress and other opposition parties demanded for caste census and had staged agitation for it throughout the country, and now they are happy that they have achieved what they intended for.
"I had written a letter two years back on caste census along with general census, they did not agree then, but now the government has taken a decision to conduct a caste census along with general census. It is a good thing and we will fully cooperate for this, but they (BJP) should not comment unnecessarily on Jawaharlal Nehru saying he was opposed to it, this and that," Kharge said.
Speaking to reporters here, he said, Jan Sangh and RSS by birth are against reservation, and such people are talking about Congress not being in favour of caste census.
"If we were against the caste census, would I have written the letter two years ago or would we have done many agitations for it? They (BJP) try to create confusion in the minds of the people and try to project that they are the only people interested in the country's welfare. It is bogus. I don't agree. For political purposes they always do such things," he added.
In a major decision, the union government on Wednesday decided to include caste enumeration in the forthcoming census exercise in a "transparent" manner.
Urging the government to fulfill the announcement made, Kharge said, as of today the government has not allocated sufficient money for it, and asked without money how the survey can be conducted?
He said, "they should also give a time limit. If the time limit is not there, it will take a long time. Therefore my suggestion is that they should give special attention to this and within two-three months or whatever time limit fixed by the government, as early as possible, they should conduct the survey and fulfil the promise and what the people wanted."
The AICC chief in response to a question said, he doesn't think that the caste census was announced keeping in mind the upcoming Bihar polls.
"I don't want to go into politics. Whatever is good I welcome it, whatever is bad I oppose, because ultimately the country is important, people are important. As people wanted caste census, we agitated demanding it....all opposition parties pressured and agitated for it throughout the country, and Rahul Gandhi took a lead in demanding for caste census, we have achieved it and we are happy," he said.
Reiterating that he welcomes the decision to include caste enumeration in the forthcoming census, he further said, "it should be done soon, it should not be a showoff, and the economic and educational survey should be done in a perfect manner satisfying everyone."
On caste surveys done by some states including Karnataka being criticised as unscientific, Kharge said, "let's see, now that they (Centre) are doing it."
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Centre spent Rs 76.13 lakh on print media ads for RSS centenary, reveals RTI
New Delhi: The Union Ministry of Culture allegedly spent Rs 76.13 lakh on print advertisements marking the 100-year celebrations of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), according to a Right to Information (RTI) reply.
The information was sought by RTI activist Ajay Basudev Bose, who filed an application seeking details on expenditure incurred by the ministry for advertisements commemorating the RSS centenary.
Bose shared a picture of the reply from the ministry on his official ‘X’ handle.
“It is informed that an amount of Rs 76,13,129 has been spent on advertisement given in various print media by the Ministry of Culture on the occasion of the completion of 100 years of RSS,” the government’s reply stated.
RTI reply shows Min of Culture Govt of India spent a Whopping Rs 76L,13K,129 on Advertisement in Print Media on occasion of 100 yrs of #RSS
— AJAY Basudev Bose (@AjayBos93388306) April 16, 2026
When Everyone knows RSS is Not Registered & Does not Pay any Tax is it justified to spend Tax Payers Money on such Private event??@RSSorg… pic.twitter.com/dW4IUtdNCg
Bose questioned the expenditure in the post X, “when Everyone knows RSS is Not Registered & Does not Pay any Tax is it justified to spend Tax Payers Money on such Private event??”
Reacting to the development, Karnataka’s IT-BT and Panchayat Raj Minister Priyank Kharge also criticised the spending.
In a post on X, he asked why public money was being used for what he described as a “private ideological project.”
"Modi Sarkar spent Rs 76,13,129 of public money on newspaper advertisements to celebrate 100 years of the RSS. Why is Government spending taxpayers money on an unregistered, non-tax-paying organisation to celebrate their centenary?," he added.
Why is public money being used to serve a private ideological project?
— Priyank Kharge / ಪ್ರಿಯಾಂಕ್ ಖರ್ಗೆ (@PriyankKharge) April 16, 2026
Modi Sarkar spent ₹76,13,129 of public money on newspaper advertisements to celebrate 100 years of the RSS.
Why is Government spending taxpayers money on an unregistered, non-tax-paying organisation to… pic.twitter.com/EoZ6Pim3IM
According to reports, the RSS describes itself as a volunteer-based organisation and has stated that it functions as a body of individuals rather than a registered entity.
Founded by Keshav Baliram Hedgewar in 1925, the organisation is marking its centenary year beginning from Vijaydashami in 2025, with the milestone observed on October 2.
