New Delhi: Congress criticised the BJP-led government of India and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday for omitting funds for the decadal population census in her budget speech.
After Sitharaman presented the Union Budget 2024 in Parliament, Congress communications secretary Jairam Ramesh accused the BJP of avoiding the caste census by not allocating any funds for the population census.
“It is highly disappointing that the Finance Minister’s announcement on Data and Statistics makes no mention of releasing funds for the decadal population census that was supposed to have taken place in 2021 but has still not been conducted. This is the first time since Independence that the Government has failed to conduct a census on time,” Ramesh stated in a post on X.
Ramesh highlighted the severe consequences of delaying the census, mentioning that 10-12 crore individuals have been excluded from the National Food Security Act’s benefits. He also suggested that the government is likely avoiding a socio-economic caste census despite demands from its own NDA partners.
Additionally, Congress accused the government of copying its Lok Sabha poll manifesto Nyay Patra for the youth internship program announced in the Union Budget 2024-25. Sitharaman had unveiled a scheme to provide internships to 1 crore youth in 500 top companies over five years.
“The Finance Minister has taken a leaf out of the INC’s Nyay Patra 2024, with its internship program clearly modeled on the INC’s proposed Apprenticeship Program called ‘Pehli Naukri Pakki’. However, in their trademark style, the scheme has been designed to grab headlines with arbitrary targets (1 crore internships) rather than a programmatic guarantee for all diploma holders and graduates, like the Indian National Congress had envisioned,” Ramesh said.
