Nitish Kumar wants caste-based census
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s demand for a caste-based census has heated political temperature in the state.
On Saturday while emphasizing the need for the caste-based census in the country, he said that the Bihar assembly passed a resolution backing the issue in 2019 and
2020 and asked the centre to reconsider its decision for the benefit of the people.
“We believe that there should be a caste-based census. The Bihar legislature had unanimously passed a resolution to this effect on 18 February 2019 and again on 27 February
2020 and it was sent to the central government. I urge that the caste wise census should be done at least once so that we should know about the exact data of all caste apart from SC and ST. This will help the government take decisions for development and welfare of the people”, Nitish Kumar said.
His remark came days after the Centre clarified that it would be including only Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe data apart from caste wise census this year.
In 2020, ahead of the Bihar assembly elections, the assembly passed resolutions against the National Register of Citizens and the castebased census.
After Nitish Kumar’s statement on the issue, opposition leader Tejashwi Yadav said that “the Bihar legislative assembly in 2020 passed a resolution for the caste wise census on the demand of the opposition”.
He questioned the Chief Minister “What would happen if the centre refuses to reconsider its decision? Your party has a stake in the central government now and you are still persuading the BJP”.
Reports suggest that the RJD is planning to launch a massive agitation against the BJP-led government demanding a caste wise census in the country. Sources said that the opposition will also raise the issue in the monsoon session of the Bihar assembly scheduled to begin from July 26.
Pointing out that the JD(U) has a stake in the central government with a cabinet minister, a senior RJD leader said that, “with a minister in the central cabinet now the chief minister is still persuading the BJP through a tweet. We are going to raise the issue strongly”.