The Communist Party of India (Marxist) on Tuesday sought the urgent intervention of President Droupadi Murmu to seek the withdrawal of the recently notified amendments to the Census rules, warning that the changes threaten the integrity, confidentiality, and impartiality of the national exercise.
In a letter to the President, CPI(M) General Secretary MA Baby expressed “grave concern” over the Census (Amendment) Rules, 2026, notified by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs on October 16. He stated that the new rules substantially expand the pool of persons eligible for appointment as enumerators to include staff from aided and private educational institutions, public sector undertakings, statutory bodies, banks, and private trusts.
Baby raised specific concern over a clause allowing State Governments and Union Territory administrations to appoint “any person” considered suitable. He argued that granting such discretion without clearly specified criteria or publicly accountable safeguards creates significant scope for arbitrary and politically motivated appointments.
“The Census involves the collection of extensive personal information from every household and individual. They would be reluctant to share such information with persons in whom they don’t have confidence,” the CPI(M) leader wrote, adding that appointing private individuals, particularly those with political links to the ruling establishment, erodes public trust.
The letter highlighted that these developments are particularly concerning when viewed alongside the questionnaire notified for the second phase of Census 2027 on August 14. The questionnaire seeks sensitive details, including the religion of parents, bank account information, Government-issued identifications, passport numbers, and mobile numbers.
Recalling the party’s August 24 memorandum to the Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India, Baby reiterated demands for stringent safeguards to prevent Census data from being linked with other databases or diverted for unauthorized purposes.
Drawing parallels to the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, where eligible citizens have allegedly faced exclusion through opaque procedures, the CPI(M) General Secretary warned that the Census must not become “an instrument of surveillance, citizenship determination or electoral exclusion.”
Calling upon the President as the constitutional head of the Republic, Baby urged her to intervene and direct the Union Government to withdraw the amendments to ensure the Census remains a neutral exercise consistent with constitutional principles.