"Why sudden dawn of wisdom?": Jairam Ramesh after Centre advances population count in poll-bound states

In a post on X, Ramesh said the move by the government shows "shoddy planning" since it was known that these elections were due.

"The population enumeration that was to take place in Feb 2027 as part of the Census 2027 exercise(that was due in 2021) has been advanced in UP, Punjab, Uttarakhand and Goa, where elections are due early next year. This shows shoddy planning since it was known that these elections were due. Why the sudden dawn of wisdom? Undoubtedly there are some nefarious political calculations afoot," he said.

Also sharing a letter written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi by the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha -- Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge respectively, Ramesh said both leaders had questioned the methodology of population count as they claimed it will not give accurate caste census data.

"Question #10 being asked on caste is deliberately very poorly designed and will render the whole caste census exercise meaningless. The LoP-LS and LoP-RS had written to the PM on Aug 20, 2026 on this issue. Clearly their pleas for mid-course correction and their constructive suggestions to follow the Bihar and Telangana questionnaire model have been totally ignored," he said.

The population enumeration of the Census 2027 exercise will be conducted in Goa, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and parts of Uttarakhand between December 1, 2026, and January 4, 2027. In the rest of the country, it will be carried out in February 2027, as per the schedule originally announced by the Registrar General of India (RGI). (ANI)