New Delhi, May 6 (UNI) Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Tuesday made three suggestions to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on caste enumeration in the upcoming census one of which is removing the 50 per cent ceiling on reservation.

In a letter to PM Modi, which Khrage had posted on his social media handle X said, "You have now announced, without providing any details, that the next Census (that was actually due in 2021) will include caste as a separate category as well. I have three suggestions for your consideration”.

Kharge said that design of the census questionnaire is crucial and asked the “Union Home Ministry to draw upon the Telangana model — both the methodology adopted for finalising the questionnaire, as well as the final set of questions asked”.

He also suggested removing of 50 per cent ceiling on reservations for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and OBCs, by a Constitutional amendments which he said was “arbitrarily imposed”.

Kharge’s third suggestion is to implement Article 15(5) that provides reservations for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and OBCs in private educational institutions as well.

“Conducting any exercise such as the caste census which gives the backward, the oppressed and the marginalised sections of our society, their rights cannot and should not be considered divisive in any way. Our great nation and our large-hearted people have always come together as one whenever needed, just as we have done after the recent cowardly terrorist attacks in Pahalgam,” Kharge said.

He said, “Congress believes that conducting caste census in the comprehensive manner suggested above is absolutely necessary to ensure social and economic justice and equality of status and opportunity as pledged in the Preamble of our Constitution”.

He further hoped that his suggestions would receive serious consideration and also urged the Prime Minister to have a dialogue with all political parties soon on the issue of the caste census.

UNI RBE PRS