Postponement of population census is ploy to postpone women’s reservation, says B Vinod Kumar

Stressing the importance of conducting the population census without further delay, BRS leader and former MP B Vinod Kumar on Tuesday feared that the postponement of the periodic count of population would have adverse impact on many counts

Hyderabad: Stressing the importance of conducting the population census without further delay, BRS leader and former MP B Vinod Kumar on Tuesday feared that the postponement of the periodic count of population would have adverse impact on many counts. It could even result in delaying the implementation of women’s reservation policy in India for another 20 years.

Addressing a news conference along with other leaders of the party at Telangana Bhavan, he said the Census, which was initially scheduled for 2021, was postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Despite the anticipation that the census would take place this year, the budget allocated for it was a meager Rs 574 crore, raising doubts about its timely execution.

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Calling for an immediate allocation of Rs 8,000 crores needed for the census, he highlighted the contrast between the allocation made for the Census exercise in the recent budget and the previous budget. He also emphasised that postponement of the census would impact various schemes, including the Employment Guarantee Scheme and the Food Security Act.

Vinod Kumar pointed out that conducting the census every ten years has been a tradition since the British era, and accurate population data is crucial for poverty eradication and effective policy implementation. He expressed concerns that the insufficient budget allocation might lead to further delays, which could have severe implications for various social welfare schemes.

Implementation of the women’s reservation policy would require updated population data. Vinod Kumar said Modi was moving without any accurate data which amounted to groping in the dark.

“To implement schemes effectively, accurate population figures are essential,” he said.

The BRS leader also pointed out that conducting the census was vital for implementation of the Women’s Reservation Bill. He suggested that the delay in the census might be a deliberate attempt to avoid addressing the demand for caste-based enumeration and subsequent reservation policies.