The Congress on Wednesday (September 9, 2026) alleged that the government’s decision to use open-ended questions instead of a drop-down list in the current format of the caste census is a “very serious flaw”, and said it seems that Prime Minister Narendra Modi wants the entire process to “fail”.

Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said his party has held 17 press conferences across the country in the last four days and reiterated the demand for conducting the caste census in the right manner.

“A caste census is not just about counting castes, but about ensuring social justice. Right kind of questions –> Right data –> Right share –> Social justice,” Mr. Ramesh said in a post in Hindi on X.

Despite repeated demands by the Congress, the Modi government’s decision to use open-ended questions instead of a drop-down list in the current format of the caste census is a “very serious flaw”, he said.

“It seems Prime Minister [Narendra] Modi wants different names, sub-castes and spellings for the same caste to be recorded in the census, so that the entire caste census process fails,” Mr. Ramesh said.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi jointly wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on this issue, along with the party’s key demand to conduct the caste census in the right manner, but no response has come yet.

Both senior leaders had expressed serious objections to the current process of the caste census in the letter dated August 20, he said.

The letter had demanded that the current questionnaire be scrapped and a new one be prepared based on a certified list of castes, Mr. Ramesh said.

Conducting the count based on a pre-prepared and certified caste list, like the caste surveys in Telangana and Bihar, is a practical solution for this, he said.

The letter also demanded extensive consultation with political parties, experts and the public for the new questionnaire.

“The Congress has reiterated the demand for a caste census along with the above demands by holding 17 press conferences across the country in the last four days on this issue,” Mr. Ramesh said.