Nitish Kumar lauds caste census decision as 'historic step', Tejashwi claims victory

Mint

30-04-2025

The Union Minister for Railways, and Information & Broadcasting, Electronics & Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw on Wednesday announced that caste enumeration will be a part of the next National Census.
An ANI report quoted Vaishnaw as saying, 'Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs has decided today that Caste enumeration should be included in the forthcoming census.' The minister, however, did not announce a date for beginning the census.
BJP party chief JP Nadda hailed the Centre's move, calling it a 'historic decision to include caste-based census in the census. 'This decision is extremely important from the point of view of bringing the economically, socially and educationally backward castes into the mainstream and restoring the dignity to the people who have been deprived of their rights for a long time,' Nadda wrote on X.
He, however, lashed out at the Congress for 'fulfilling its political interests' and alleging that the latter had always opposed the caste census. 'For a long time, Congress has fulfilled its political interests by increasing animosity between castes and making them a means of vote bank. While in power, Congress always opposed caste census, the proof of which is that after independence, caste census has not been done in the country till date," he said.
'This unprecedented decision of the Modi government will be a milestone in expanding social harmony as well as in uplifting every section and increasing the respect of the backward sections. I express my gratitude to Modi ji for this historic decision for the welfare of the entire society,' Nadda added in his post on X.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar also hailed the decision by saying, 'The decision of the Central Government to conduct caste census is welcome. Conducting caste census will reveal the number of people of different classes, which will help in making plans for their upliftment and development,' he said in a post on X.
Former deputy chief minister Tejashwi Yadav welcome the decision by writing a long post on X. He wrote, 'Our ideological victory, our fight for social justice is now at the next stage. Whatever we do today, others think about it after 35-40 years. Now we will reserve seats for backward/most backward classes in Vidhan Sabha, Vidhan Parishad, Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. Many recommendations of Mandal Commission are yet to be implemented.'
He concluded his post with 'Long live social justice!'
Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) president Chirag Paswan said it is an important decision in national interest, saying that his party had long called for it. The decision will be a big step in the country's equitable development, the Union minister said, adding that caste census will help "make more just and focussed policies".
Paswan said that "misleading claims" were made about relations between him and the central government over the issue, and that the decision is a clear answer to such rumours.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah called it a historic decision, saying that the Modi government was committed to social justice. 'In the CCPA meeting held today under the leadership of Prime Minister Shri @narendramodi ji, a message of strong commitment towards social equality and rights of every section has been given by deciding to include caste census in the upcoming census,' he said in a post on X.
'The Congress and its allies opposed the caste census for decades while in power and played politics over it while in the opposition. This decision will empower all economically and socially backward classes, promote inclusion and pave new paths for the progress of the deprived,' he added.
First Published: 30 Apr 2025, 07:09 PM IST