Akhilesh Yadav’s statement on Census reflects intellectual bankruptcy and political desperation: BJP

Reacting to Samajwadi Party (SP) national president Akhilesh Yadav’s statement regarding the caste column in the census, the BJP said on Sunday it reflects intellectual bankruptcy, along with political desperation and frustration.

BJP spokesperson Harishchandra Srivastava in a statement here said that on one hand, Akhilesh Yadav portrays himself as an experienced Member of Parliament and former Chief Minister, and on the other hand, he is trying to mislead the public without knowing the facts.

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He said that point number -12 of the notification issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India, on January 22, 2026, under the Central Census Act, 1948, clearly mentions the recording of details of Scheduled Castes, Backward Classes, and other categories.

The BJP spokesperson said that in such a situation, claiming that there is no caste column in the census is completely misleading. He alleged that Akhilesh Yadav is becoming a subject of ridicule among his own MPs, MLAs, and workers because his statements do not match government documents.

Srivastava said that instead of misleading the public, the SP chief should carefully read the issued notification and clear his confusion. He said that the BJP government was fully committed to social justice and the census process will be conducted with complete transparency.

A day earlier, posting on his social media account, Akhilesh Yadav had said, “The census notification doesn’t even have a caste column, so what will they count? Caste-based census is also a BJP slogan. The BJP’s simple formula is that there will be no counting, and therefore no demographic basis for providing proportional reservation and rights. Not conducting a caste-based census is a BJP conspiracy against the PDA (Pichda, Dalit, Alpsankhyak – Backward Classes, Dalits, Minorities) community.”