New Delhi, Feb 10 (IANS): Congress Parliamentary Party Chairperson and Rajya Sabha MP, Sonia Gandhi, on Monday demanded an early conduct of the Census, claiming that its four-year delay has denied social benefits, like food security, to crores of people.

In her maiden intervention in Rajya Sabha since taking oath in April last year, the former Congress President stated that 14 crore people were not getting the entitled benefits of subsidised food grains due to a delay of about four years in conducting the next Census.

“The quota for beneficiaries is still determined based on the 2011 Census which is now well over a decade old,” she said.

Sonia Gandhi said the Census was due since 2021. “For the first time in Independent India’s history, the Census has been delayed for more than four years. Originally scheduled for 2021, there is still no clarity on when it will be conducted. The Budget allocations reveal that the updated census is unlikely to be conducted this year as well.”

The Congress Parliamentary Party Chairperson highlighted the achievements of the previous Congress-led UPA government by calling the National Food Security Act (NFSA), 2013 a landmark initiative aimed at ensuring food and nutritional security for the country's 140 crore population.

“It is this Act that provided the basis for the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana,” she said, crediting the NFSA for playing a crucial role in protecting millions of households from starvation, particularly during the COVID-19 crisis.

Recalling the key features of the UPA-era NFSA, she said that under the law 75 per cent of the rural population and 50 per cent of the urban population was entitled to receive subsidised food grains.

Sonia Gandhi said, “It is imperative that the government prioritises the completion of the Census as soon as possible and ensures that all deserving individuals receive the benefits guaranteed to them under the NFSA. Food security is not a privilege but a fundamental right."