Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Thursday said he had written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, seeking an appointment to pres...
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Thursday said he had written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, seeking an appointment to press for a caste-based census, a long-standing demand in the state, The Times of India reported.
“Once he gives an appointment we will take the matter forward,” Kumar told reporters in Patna.
Days back, the chief minister had said apprehension that such a census will upset some people was baseless, NDTV reported. “It is up to the Centre to do a caste census or not,” he added. “Our job is to put forth our views. Do not think that one caste will like and another will not...It is in everyone’s interest.”
Leader of the Opposition in the Bihar Assembly Tejashwi Yadav had also urged Kumar to lead an all-party delegation to Delhi for a caste-based census. The Rashtriya Janata Dal leader asked the Bihar government to conduct this exercise “on its own” if the Centre refuses to respond to their demand.
This came after the Modi government told Parliament on July 20 that it had decided to not conduct a caste census.
The only caste-wise data the next census would collate would be on Dalits and Adivasis, the same as every census in independent India’s history. India’s largest caste bloc – the other backward classes –...
