New Delhi [India], September 8 (ANI): Ahead of the G20 Summit, the Congress party on Friday attacked the Central government, saying that the 18th summit with India’s rotational presidency is revealing one of the "biggest failures of the NDA as it has failed to conduct the "decadal Census" that was due in 2021 due to which an estimated 14 crore citizens are excluded from their food entitlements.

Terming National Democratic Allaince (NDA) as ‘No Data Available’, the Congress has every G20 country except India has managed to conduct the census, despite COVID-19, including other developing countries like Indonesia, Brazil, and South Africa.

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Jairam Ramesh, the Congress MP and general secretary (communication) of the party, said that not failing to conduct the census is an “unprecedented failure” in the history of the nation.

“The start of the 18th G20 summit today with India’s rotational presidency is a moment for reflection, revealing one of the biggest failures of the NDA (No Data Available) Government — it has failed to conduct the decadal Census that was due in 2021. The Modi government is so inept and incompetent that it has been unable to carry out India’s most important statistical exercise which has been conducted on schedule since 1951. This is an unprecedented failure in the history of our nation,” Jairam Ramesh said in a statement.

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Citing a media report, the Congress MP claimed that the Modi government’s failure to conduct the Census has led to an estimated 14 crore (140 million) Indians being excluded from their food entitlements.

“This is a categorical denial of a fundamental right to the citizen guaranteed by Article 21 of the Constitution, which was implemented by the UPA government through the landmark National Food Security Act (NFSA). The Modi government was forced to rely on the NFSA as a critical lifeline for families across India, providing the much-needed safety net for the poorest during the COVID-19 pandemic,” he added.

He further said that under NFSA, 67 per cent of Indians are entitled to food rations, but as the census of 2021 is still pending, it only offers NFSA coverage to 81 crore people based on the 2011 Census, whereas 95 crore Indians are entitled to the NFSA coverage, going by current estimates of the population.

“New beneficiaries are not being added and people are being denied their rights for at least two years now. In July 2022, the Supreme Court had noted this issue and directed the Modi government to rectify this untenable situation by using population projections. But no change was made. This massive failure shows not only the Prime Minister’s contempt for the Supreme Court, but his disdain for the Constitutional rights of the people of India,” Jairam Ramesh added.

Not only has the Modi government failed to carry out the Census, but the Socio-Economic Caste Census that was conducted by the UPA government in 2011 remains suppressed, he said.

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In his statement, the Congress leader demanded to conduct an updated national Caste Census and stop opposing state-level Caste Census efforts.

“The party demands to end the suppression of data inconvenient to the government, like the 2017-18 NSS and the 2022-23 CES, stop manipulating NFHS to hide failures in health indicators, and restore faith in India’s historically robust statistical system,” he added. (ANI)

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