NDA hails move; Opposition sees win on caste census
The decision to include caste in the upcoming census was welcomed by parties across the political spectrum.
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Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, whose party has been a strong advocate of caste census, welcomed the decision. "...Our demand for conducting caste census is old. It is a matter of great happiness that the Central Government has decided to conduct a caste census. Conducting caste census will reveal the number of people of different classes, which will help in making plans for their upliftment and development. This will accelerate the development of the country...," Kumar posted on X.
NDA ally TDP supported the move with Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu stating on X: "The decision to include caste enumeration in Census 2025 by the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs reflects Hon'ble PM Shri @narendramodi Ji's deep commitment to inclusive governance. This landmark step will enable more precise, data-driven policies that address the needs of the marginalised communities in our country. Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas continues to evolve from principle to practice, strengthening the foundations of social justice in India."
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The decision has come ahead of the Bihar assembly polls and it is an issue which will be widely discussed in the months ahead. In fact Tamil Nadu chief minister and DMK leader MK Stalin said that with Bihar elections in the offing, the move reeks of political expediency.
He termed caste census as essential and not an optional thing and demanded that the government should announce the date to begin and finish the exercise.
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JDU working president Sanjay Jha said it was Nitish Kumar who conducted the first caste survey in Bihar with complete transparency and the results were made public. "Now the historic decision of the NDA government to conduct accurate caste census across the country has brought new hope for the deprived sections, whose pleasant results will be seen in the coming years," Jha added.
Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav called it a victory for the PDA and INDIA bloc. "The decision of the caste census is a 100% victory of the unity of 90% PDA. Due to the combined pressure by all of us, the BJP government has been forced to take this decision..." Yadav posted on X. "This is the first phase of a positive democratic movement for rights and the last phase of BJP's negative politics.
RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav even demanded that post the caste census, the OBCs should get seats reserved in Parliament as the SCs and STs have it now.
"...The caste census must be done before delimitation and then the way Dalits, SCs, STs and Adivasis have reserved seats in Parliament and in state assemblies, OBCs and EBCs must have reserve seats," Yadav told ET.
Union minister and NDA ally LJP (RV) leader Chirag Paswan said that the PM has fulfilled what was pending for a long time. Another union minister and HAM leader Jitan Ram Manjhi called it a historic decision and took on the Congress for not doing a caste census in their tenure.
Rashtriya Lok Morcha leader and NDA ally Upendra Kushwaha said that the decision will prove to be a milestone in the direction of the development of the oppressed and exploited society.
Welcoming the decision, Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah said his government had conducted not only a caste census, but also a social, economic and educational survey. The government was making efforts to revise its reservation policy and increase the reservation cap based on the data gathered through the survey, he said.
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