WATCH: Rahul Gandhi Talks Of Congress' 'Mistake' On Caste Census, Vows To Not Repeat It Again

New Delhi: Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi said that ut was a "mistake" of the erstwhile UPA Government-led by the Grand Old Party to not conduct a caste-based census. Congress-led UPA government came up with the idea, but did not implement it, said Rahul Gandhi, adding that the party is planning to rectify the mistake by starting the exercise in Karnataka and Telangana. The caste census has been a poll promise of the Congress-led INDIA alliance. "UPA and Congress came out with the idea of a caste census. I consider it a mistake that we did not implement it then. We have a government in Telangana and we have a government in Karnataka. We are doing a detailed exercise, a public exercise where we are meeting with different stakeholders and we are preparing the questions of the caste census through a public discussion," said Rahul Gandhi while speaking at Jharkhand's Ranchi. "We have a very clear vision for the caste census. I guarantee you that when we implement the caste census, which we will do, as I have committed in the Lok Sabha and we will do in Jharkhand, it will be a huge step in the transformation and development of this country," he added. Mounting an attack on the ruling-Bharatiya Janata Party, Gandhi said, "The BJP people have no idea even how to do this, even if they wanted to do it."

#WATCH | #JharkhandAssemblyElection2024 | Ranchi: Lok Sabha LoP and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi says, "UPA and Congress came out with the idea of a caste census. I consider it a mistake that we did not implement it then. We have a government in Telangana and we have a government in… pic.twitter.com/enpJxksAXS

— ANI (@ANI) November 18, 2024

As per the latest development, the much-delayed decadal census exercise and the work to update the National Population Register (NPR) are likely to begin early 2025 and the data will be declared by 2026, thus changing future census cycles completely, official sources said. However, no decision has been taken yet on whether caste census will also be carried out along with the general census.The country's population count has been conducted every 10 years since 1951, but the census work in 2021 could not be carried out due to the COVID-19 pandemic. So far, no formal announcement has been made on its next schedule.