The caste and Below Poverty Line census has been suspended in the poll-bound Uttar Pradesh by Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh, though it goes on nonstop in Punjab, Goa, Uttarakhand and Manipur also have simultaneous elections.
'There will be not less than 31 lakh people working in the census process.'
With the Centre taking a U-turn on caste-based census and agreeing to include it as a part of the ongoing census exercise, an angry P Chidambaram virtually walked out of the Lok Sabha and did not return even for Vande Mataram recital when the House came to a close after the eventful Budget session.
Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad demanded that the inclusion of caste in census be approved in the next Parliament session itself to benefit backward communities. "I request Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to ensure the inclusion of caste in census is cleared in the next Parliament session. If there is a delay, there will be a revolution at the national level by the people."
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah is likely to resign, potentially paving the way for his deputy DK Shivakumar to take over. The move follows reported pressure from the Congress high command, though the party has denied any official decision. Speculation is rife as political tensions rise in the state.
Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh has alleged that the BJP's "real and ultimate target" in seeking a two-thirds majority in the Lok Sabha is to amend the Constitution to end reservation, rather than genuinely implement women's reservation.
'Both men understand the stakes. They are not about to squander what they have.'
On Tuesday, Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi accused BJP MP Anurag Thakur of "abusing and insulting" him during the Lok Sabha discussion on the Union Budget.
Tamil Nadu Governor RV Arlekar announced that the TVK regime, led by Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay, will take steps to ensure fair financial devolution from the Centre, including pursuing the matter in the Supreme Court. The government also plans to conduct a 'Social Justice Survey' and address the state's severe financial deterioration.
A bill to implement 33 per cent reservation for women in Lok Sabha and state assemblies by increasing the lower house's strength to 850 is slated for introduction in Parliament. The bill seeks to amend Article 81 of the Constitution and utilise 2011 Census data for redrawing constituencies.
Several opposition parties on Wednesday decided to jointly oppose the delimitation provisions in the Constitution amendment bill in Parliament, even as they reiterated support for women's reservation, with Mallikarjun Kharge alleging the move is politically motivated.
'For the first time in this country, perhaps the first time anywhere, we are going to use backwardness index.' 'It is a fundamental shift in the discourse in the country's social justice.'
Faced with a challenge to his traditional Other Backward Class-Muslim vote base from the ruling National Democratic Alliance in poll-bound Bihar, Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad appears to be making inclusion of caste in census and opposition to women's reservation bill his major planks to woo the electorate.Strongly pitching for incorporating caste in census, he said opposing it could spark a 'mass agitation'.
The Congress party in Haryana boycotted a special session of the state assembly, accusing the ruling BJP of using the platform for political propaganda related to a defeated Constitution amendment bill on women's reservation. The BJP criticised the Congress's move as anti-women.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for gifting 'Melody' toffees to Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni, calling it a 'gimmick' while India faces an 'economic storm'. He accused Modi of prioritising public relations over addressing the struggles of farmers, labourers, and youth, a sentiment echoed by other Congress leaders.
The delimitation of constituencies, which aimed to reduce the influence of minority candidates, is a significant factor in the NDA's strong performance in the Assam elections, where they secured a record 102 seats. The 2023 delimitation exercise redrew constituencies, reserving some Muslim-majority seats for indigenous communities, which increased the BJP and its allies' seat count.
'It is for the first time in Independent India that collection of information on caste is being done.'
The Lok Sabha is set to expand to 815 seats, with 272 seats reserved for women, according to Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal. The move aims to implement the women's quota without disadvantaging men or any state. The proposed legislations also include provisions for reservation for women from SC and ST categories within the women's quota.
'If the Opposition associates itself too much with the minorities, then it becomes easy for the BJP to get Hindu consolidation votes.'
A Constitution Amendment Bill aimed at implementing 33 per cent reservation for women in legislatures and increasing Lok Sabha seats was defeated in Parliament, marking a setback for the government's efforts to empower women in politics.
What lessons opposition parties need to learn post defeat of Mamata Banerjee in West Bengal elections? The election saw spectacular victor of BJP which rose from 3 seats in 2016 to 206 seats in 2026 assembly elections.
'You cannot run Parliament with 800 MPs as nobody will get time (to speak in Parliament). And Parliament sits for barely 60 days in a year.' 'Look at the House of Commons of the United Kingdom. They have 650 MPs and they sit for 150 days on an average in a year.'
On May 11 we launched our campaign against caste in census 2011 and responses from readers have been pouring in. While some merely clicked the 'I am against the caste census' button, others were more vocal. We present what our readers had to say.
The Indian Parliament is expected to extend its budget session to introduce a bill increasing Lok Sabha seats to 816, reserving 273 for women, and amending the women's reservation law.
As the row erupted in Parliament, the Congress said the Gandhi family's caste is martyrdom but the BJP-RSS will never understand that.
It was significant that the ceremony took place at 24, Akbar Road, the party's former national headquarters, and not at its new office in Kotla Road.
What is missing in the BJP's armour is dominance over 50 percent of the electorate: Women. And this is a gamble Modi-Shah have indicated that they are willing to take, explains Saisuresh Sivaswamy.
A special dedicated web portal will be launched for self-enumeration during the upcoming Census, which will be available for both phases of the national enumeration exercise, officials said Monday.
With the Bihar government releasing the findings of its caste survey, pressure seems to be mounting on the Karnataka government, especially within the ruling Congress, to make the state's Socio-economic and Educational Census, popularly known as the 'caste census', public.
'All governments are scared of a negative image.' 'Somehow, this government has a tendency to create a narrative that things are improving.' 'When the real data gives a different picture, they are upset.'
'They fear their caste privilege will be exposed if there is an OBC caste census.'
'The real fault line in Assam is not Hindu versus Muslim. It is Assamese versus Bengali -- and within that, the specific anxiety about undocumented Bangladeshi settlers claiming land and altering the demographic balance of the state.'
If everything goes according to the plan, the exercise will begin after the Lok Sabha elections, the official said.
As the Congress batted for a national caste census with an assertion that rights should be proportionate to population, its senior leader Abhishek Singhvi on Tuesday created a flutter by saying "it will eventually culminate into majoritarianism", a remark he later withdrew from social media and blaming it on his staff.
The Telangana government officials would submit a report by February 2 on the caste survey held in the state last year.
Actor-politician Vijay, founder of Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam, is set to resume his political campaign on Sunday in Kanchipuram district. He will address people at an indoor facility, with arrangements made for a smooth event. Approximately 1,500 people with QR-coded passes will be allowed entry, and security measures are in place.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had agreed to hold a caste census 'out of fear' of the country's deprived population, to which the opposition was lending its voice.
The Karnataka High Court declined to halt the state's socio-economic and educational survey (caste survey) but instructed the government to keep the collected data confidential and ensure participation is voluntary.
Political watchers say the caste survey report was made public to play the OBC-EBC card and stall the BJP's campaign to win most of Bihar's 40 Lok Sabha seats.
The Congress on Friday posted its second worst performance in Bihar's electoral history, managing to win only six of the over 50 seats it contested and losing deposits in most seats as its 'vote chori' pitch failed to make any impact on the ground.
