Congress accuses Modi govt of running demography panel with hidden agenda
The Congress on Tuesday, September 29, attacked the Modi government over a Home Ministry-led demography panel. The panel is reportedly seeking religion-wise data spanning 15 years. This includes data on births, vehicle registrations, school enrolment and property transactions. Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh alleged the committee has a "patently diabolical agenda."
Ramesh shared a report by The Hindu on X. It said the High-Level Committee on Demographic Changes (HLCDC) had sought this religion-wise data. The panel also wants district-wise details of religious structures. It is seeking data on unusual spikes in Aadhaar, voter ID and ration card registrations too. According to the report, the panel has additionally sought intelligence assessments on religious conversions among Scheduled Tribe communities. It also wants details of operational detention centres.
"This panel has a patently diabolical agenda and has clearly articulated pre-conceived biases. Its report has already been prepared no doubt," Ramesh wrote.
The Union Home Ministry constituted the HLCDC on May 26. Justice Prakash Prabhakar Naolekar heads the panel. Its task is to examine demographic changes linked to illegal immigration and other "abnormal factors." It is also meant to recommend measures to address them.
The panel has posed 35 questions to state governments, The Hindu reported. Several states have struggled to respond. Their departments do not normally maintain this information on a religion-wise basis. The committee wants district-wise data on voter registrations too. It is particularly interested in people who lack previous-generation birth certificates or family records. It has also sought 15 years of data on transport and non-transport vehicle registrations. On property, it wants details of unusual land purchases, demographic clustering and ownership patterns.
Ramesh's remarks came the same day Congress leader Pawan Khera made a separate attack. Khera renewed the party's criticism of the Election Commission. He cited former Union minister R.K. Singh's concerns about the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. Khera demanded the Chief Election Commissioner's resignation. This, he said, would help "restore public confidence" in the poll body.
The broader row over the SIR process has grown louder recently. An Indian Express investigation found that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had raised objections at least 14 times over 10 months. These concerned decisions and procedures linked to the SIR exercise.
