Political parties in Bihar on Wednesday widely welcomed the central government’s decision to conduct the caste census along with the national census next year. The JD(U) and RJD leaders said the central government has accepted their age-old demand.
Bihar became the first state in the country to have authentic data about its castes and population and emerged as the role model when the Grand Alliance government of JD(U), RJD and the Congress Party, conducted the caste survey in 2023.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar welcomed the Central Government’s decision to conduct the caste census and said that he has been making this demand for quite some time.
In a message posted on ‘X’, he said, “It is a matter of great happiness that the Central Government has decided to conduct the caste census. Conducting caste census will reveal the number of people of different communities, which will help in making plans for their upliftment and development. This will accelerate the development of the country.”
Leader of the Opposition in Bihar Assembly Tejashwi Yadav said that the Bharatiya Janata Party makes every decision with an eye on the elections.
He termed it a historic victory of the social justice movement and demanded that caste census should be conducted before delimitation.
The RJD leader added, “We will now fight to get seats reserved for the backward and extremely backward class in parliamentary and assembly constituencies.”
RJD supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav said that the Central Government has accepted his 30 year old demand.
“What we socialists think about 30 years ago, like reservation, caste census, equality, fraternity, secularism, others follow decades later,” he wrote in a post on ‘X’.
He also mentioned that those who called him casteist for demanding caste census have got a befitting reply.
He said, “When I was the national president of Janata Dal in 1996-97, our United Front government had made a cabinet decision to conduct a caste census along with the 2001 population census. In 2001, it was the NDA government headed by Atal Bihari Vajpayee, which did not implement it.”
CPI–ML General Secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya said that caste census was a key demand of the India Alliance in the 2024 parliamentary elections. Bihar has already conducted the caste census in 2023. He said that the Modi government has decided very late. The general census is already delayed by four years.
“Instead of targeting the states that conducted caste surveys and the opposition parties that support this demand, the Modi government should take immediate steps to ensure the implementation of the 65 per cent reservation policy passed by the Bihar Assembly. There should be action, not empty rhetoric,” he said.
Bihar BJP President Dr. Dilip Jaiswal said that now the country will be able to make plans for development according to the number of deprived, exploited and suffering sections through accurate data and expressed confidence that the government will implement them on the ground.
Jan Suraaj Party founder Prashant Kishor said just conducting the census will not develop the country. Improvement will happen only if the government formulates and implements policies based on the results of the census.
Union Minister Chirag Paswan also welcomed the decision and expressed confidence that this decision will be helpful in ensuring inclusive development of the country.
“Caste census will help in making policies more equitable and targeted. This will provide solid information and basis towards empowering the deprived sections,” he said.