Congress leaders Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday (August 25, 2026) over the caste census issue.

The letter said the government has opted for open-ended question format to record caste details in census, which is misleading. The letter further asked for the current questionnaire to be cancelled.

In a post on X, the Congress leaders said, “Your govt has opted for open-ended question format to record caste details in census, which is misleading”.

Briefing reporters on the letter written in Hindi by Kharge and Gandhi on August 20, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said the government’s current efforts towards a caste census are just a “whitewash”.

लोक सभा में नेता प्रतिपक्ष श्री @RahulGandhi और मैंने प्रधानमंत्री नरेंद्र मोदी जी को संयुक्त पत्र लिखकर जाति जनगणना की मौजूदा प्रक्रिया पर गंभीर चिंता जताई है।



Open-ended सवालों के जरिए जातियों की सही गिनती संभव नहीं है। एक ही जाति अलग-अलग नामों और उपजातियों में दर्ज हुई तो… pic.twitter.com/9bmRQrNiaT

— Mallikarjun Kharge (@kharge) August 25, 2026

Mr. Kharge’s post further said, “It is not possible to accurately count castes through open-ended questions. If the same caste is recorded under different names and sub-castes, the data will be scattered, and the biggest loss will be to OBCs, most backward, and deprived communities. Our demand is clear – the current questionnaire should be canceled, a new questionnaire should be prepared based on a verified list of castes, and extensive consultation should be done with political parties, experts, and the public.”

Like the caste surveys in Telangana and Bihar, conducting the count based on a pre-prepared and verified caste list is its practical solution, Mr. Kharge added. “The caste census should not only be done, it should also be done correctly.”