The Congress on Tuesday attacked the Modi government over a Home Ministry-led demography panel that has reportedly sought religion-wise data for the past 15 years on birth and vehicle registrations, school enrolment and property transactions. The party alleged that the committee has a "patently diabolical agenda." The claim rests on a newspaper report, and the material provided includes no response from the government or the panel. The exchange brings a sensitive question, how the state collects and uses data broken down by religion, into the centre of the political debate, and it is likely to draw reactions from other parties and civil society groups in the days ahead.

Congress general secretary in-charge of communications Jairam Ramesh shared a report in The Hindu that said the High-Level Committee on Demographic Changes had sought the religion-wise data. According to the report, the committee also asked for district-wise details of religious structures and for information on unusual increases in Aadhaar, voter ID and ration card registrations. Ramesh's account, as summarised in the source, also refers to property transactions among the categories sought. These details are attributed to the newspaper's reporting and have not been independently verified in the material provided, so they should be read as reported claims rather than confirmed facts.

The source does not say whether the Home Ministry or the committee has confirmed the data request, or whether any government official has responded to the Congress criticism. It also does not describe the committee's mandate, its membership, or the purpose for which the data is being collected. Without those details, the reasoning behind the request cannot be assessed from the material provided. Nor does the source say which agencies or state governments have been asked to supply the information, or whether they have complied. A data request of this breadth would ordinarily involve several departments, but the source gives no indication of how it is being handled.

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Ramesh's characterisation of the panel's agenda is a political allegation by an opposition leader, and it should be read as such. The source does not include his full statement or any further specifics on why the Congress considers the request objectionable. It is therefore unclear whether the party's objection is to the collection of religion-wise data as such, to the particular categories named, or to the way the committee was set up. The phrase "patently diabolical agenda" conveys the strength of the party's opposition, but the material provided does not set out the evidence or reasoning behind it. The reported categories are wide-ranging.

They combine routine administrative records, such as births, vehicle registrations and school enrolment, with property transactions and the location of religious structures, and with a search for unusual increases in identity and welfare documents. The source does not say why these categories were chosen or how the committee intends to analyse them. Any assessment of whether the request is appropriate would depend on the panel's stated purpose and on the safeguards, if any, that govern how such data is used, none of which are described in the material provided. Further clarity is likely to depend on whether the Home Ministry or the committee issues a statement on the reported data request, and on how other parties respond to the Congress's charge. The government may be asked to explain the panel's terms of reference and to say whether the reported requests were made. Until such information emerges, what is established is limited to the Congress's allegation and the newspaper report on which it relies.

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