Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Thursday, 19 August, said he, along with representatives from all parties in the state, will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 23 August to discuss the issue of a caste-based census.
Kumar added that Tejashwi Yadav, the leader of opposition in the state assembly, will also be a part of the delegation.
“I had sought an appointment with the PM to meet him along with an all-party delegation from Bihar, including RJD's Tejashwi Yadav, to discuss the issue of a caste-based census. I thank him for giving us time next Monday at 11 am," Kumar was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.
“The caste-based census will benefit all sections of the society and facilitate more effective governance,” he was quoted as saying.
Led by Tejashwi Yadav, leaders of the five-party opposition Grand Alliance, had recently met the CM over the issue.
Leader of the JD(U), Nitish Kumar, has asserted that different stands on the issue by his party and the BJP would not affect the coalition.
Meanwhile, a caste-based census other than for SC/STs has not been undertaken in the country since 1931. After Independence, BR Ambedkar and others had argued that such a census will stand in the way of an equitable society, NDTV reported.
The sensitive demand for a caste-based census comes just months before assembly elections scheduled in seven states next year, including Uttar Pradesh, which remains divided deeply along caste lines.
This comes days after the Constitution (127th Amendment) Bill on OBC list was passed in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday, 10 August. The amendment will restore the powers of state governments to notify their own lists for Socially and Educationally Backward Classes (SEBCs).
(With inputs from PTI and NDTV)
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