After Bihar Chief Minister (CM) Nitish Kumar on Monday, 23 May, called for an all-party meeting to discuss the caste census, the deputy CM of the state, Tarkishor Prasad of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), said that "guidance" had been sought from the party's central leadership regarding the meeting.
Kumar's Janata Dal (United) (JDU) and the BJP are alliance partners in Bihar.
Kumar had said on 23 May that that his government would start working on a caste census soon after consulting all parties, thus supporting opposition leader Tejashwi Yadav's stand on the issue.
"We will call an all-party meeting to take everyone's views on a caste-based census. Then the proposal will be presented before the state cabinet," the chief minister said while speaking to reporters.
'BJP Supports Caste Census': Former Bihar Dy CM Sushil Modi
Meanwhile, former Deputy CM of Bihar and BJP leader Sushil Modi said that his party had never opposed a census along caste lines, and had even backed a resolution regarding it in the state assembly, NDTV reported.
He also said that state BJP minister Janak Ram had accompanied CM Kumar when he had gone to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi regarding the census in 2021.
However, the party's central leadership had said that it was opposed to the census. The government had also informed the Supreme Court in September last year that it found the collection of caste details through a population census "administratively difficult and cumbersome".
At the time, Kumar had opposed the government's stand, saying that a caste census was in the interest of the country.
Call for All-Party Meet on 27 May
Meanwhile, CM Kumar said that a meeting on the issue was likely to take place this week. "We have spoken to some parties on conducting the meeting on 27 May but we are waiting for some parties to respond. After a final decision, the proposal will go to the cabinet and then we will start work."
At the time, the BJP's Prasad had not given any clear answer when asked whether his party was in support of the caste census. "We will discuss it and consider various aspects," he had said.
While the Centre's position on the caste census has been that it would cause divisions in society, the JDU and the opposition Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) have maintained that a census along caste lines would help to implement policies to help the most downtrodden sections of society.
(With inputs from NDTV.)
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