Bihar parties led by Nitish meet PM to push for caste census
People in Bihar and the entire country are of the same opinion on this issue... Now, he (PM Modi) has to take a decision on it
NITISH KUMAR, Bihar chief minister
NEW DELHI: Stepping up their campaign for a caste-based census, a delegation of 10 parties from Bihar headed by chief minister Nitish Kumar met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday in support of the demand.
Kumar said after the meeting that all parties from Bihar spoke in one voice on the need for a caste-based census, and asserted that statistics about different castes will help in formulating development schemes effectively as many of them have not benefitted so far in line with their actual population.
Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav, who was part of the delegation, said such a census was in national interest and will be a historic measure and help the poor and the most deprived sections of the society.
“If animals and trees can be counted, so can people,” he said.
Kumar was joined by representatives of all major parties, including the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress, as they submitted their demand to Modi.
Asked about the Prime Minister’s response, he said Modi gave all of them a patient hearing and “did not deny what we said (need for caste census)”.
BJP’s Janak Ram, who was part of the delegation, said Modi heard out everyone’s view like the “guardian of a family”. Everyone was “satisfied” and the Prime Minister’s decision will be acceptable to all, he added.
With census being the Union’s prerogative, it is now up to the Centre to take a call on the demand made by many parties, mostly those who draw their core support from the Other Backward Classes (OBCs).
Speaking to reporters, both Kumar and Yadav referred to the statement of a Union minister, a reference to minister of state for home Affairs Nityanand Rai’s reply in Rajya Sabha that there was no proposal for releasing caste-based population data, with the chief minister saying it triggered “unrest” among people.
A certain bonhomie between the two political rivals, who have been allies in the past, was also on display as Kumar credited the young RJD leader for making the proposal for an all-party delegation meeting the PM, and Yadav expressing thanks to the chief minister for working on it and seeking time from Modi.
Asked if Kumar’s Janata Dal (United), which is part of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance, and the RJD are coming closer, Yadav said the opposition in Bihar has always supported the government over propeople measures and those in national interest. “Once caste census is carried out, then we will get to know actual information about all castes. Development work for them can then be taken up effectively,” he said.
Noting the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes are counted and census also includes data about different religions, Yadav asked why then others cannot be counted.
With critics claiming that caste census may fuel casteism and animosity, he noted that census based on people’s religious affiliations had never caused any violence.
A caste census will help the government find out who are the poorest people, and measures can be then taken to help them, the RJD leader said, adding that their demand was not specific to Bihar but for a nationwide counting of people of different castes.
Kumar and Yadav also thanked Modi for the meeting.
Asked about his brother Tej Pratap Yadav’s angry outbursts against some RJD leaders for allegedly ignoring him in the party’s affairs, Tejashwi Yadav parried the query, and said he will stick to speaking on the issues of “national interest”.
A census on caste lines can have huge political implications and a number of regional parties, including BJP’s allies, have
PATNA: The Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP), which was part of an all-party delegation from Bihar which met the Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday to press for a caste census in the country, seems to be a divided house on the issue.
While several BJP leaders are against the caste census, a few others have supported it.
State’s minister Janak Ram, who was part of the delegation from the BJP side, was cautious. “The PM has to take a decision on the caste census demand. Whatever he decides should be acceptable to all parties,” Ram said after the meeting in New Delhi. “PM has proved that development and caste are two different things. I don’t think caste creates hindrances in development,” he told reporters.
Others like minister Ram Surat Rai backed caste census categorically. “Both caste census and a law on population control are necessary. The mandate lies with the Centre. It is good that
chief minister Nitish Kumar and PM Modi met on the issue,” Rai said.
Patliputra BJP MP Ram Kripal Yadav, a former union minister, said BJP “has been ahead of others when it comes to safeguarding the rights of OBCs”.
Cooperative minister Subhash Singh, however, is opposed to the idea. “This will lead to social
tension,” he had said.
While deputy chief minister Tarkishore Prasad gave no reaction, Bihar BJP chief Dr Sanjay Jaiswal had recently said a caste census might have an adverse impact on social amity. When reached for comment on Monday, he said, “Whatever PM decides will be acceptable to us.”
Most BJP leaders had opposed caste census after the Union government ruled out demand for the same in Parliament. “However, they seem to have realized suddenly it would not like to be seen as the isolated party which is opposing caste census,” said Gyanendra Yadav, associate professor and head of sociology department, College of Commerce, Patna.
The most explicit support for a caste census has come from Rajya Sabha member and former deputy chief minister of state Sushil Kumar Modi. “BJP has never been against the caste census. That is why we have been part of the resolution passed in the Legislative Assembly and the Council on this issue. BJP is part of the delegation which met Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In the year 2011, BJP’s Gopinath Munde had presented the party’s side in Parliament in favour of the caste census,” he tweeted.
The BJP heavyweight in Bihar further said that on the instructions of the central government at that time, when the socio-economic survey was conducted by the ministries of rural development and urban development, crores of errors were found in it. “The number of castes reached into lakhs. The report was not made public due to huge discrepancies,” he said.
A senior BJP leader, wishing not to be named, conceded that the demand for caste census has indeed put his party in a dilemma. “BJP cannot wholeheartedly support OBC politics, unlike the JD-U and RJD, because it fears it would antagonise the upper castes. But it can also not been seen as anti-OBC because it has made inroads in the sizable OBC and Dalit vote bank in the state,” he said.
The last caste census was held in India in 1931.
{ SUSHIL MODI } RAJYA SABHA MEMBER AND FORMER DEPUTY CHIEF MINISTER BJP has never been against caste census. That is why we have been part of the resolution passed in the Legislative Assembly and the Council...