Chief minister of Bihar Nitish Kumar He said that the caste-based survey would be conducted in the state within a stipulated time frame and necessary cabinet approval would be given soon. The announcement on Wednesday came after an all-party meeting – chaired by Kumar – was held in Patna on the contentious issue that has dominated Bihar politics since last year, when RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav raised his demand, which was also supported by the chief minister. met. ,
“In the meeting, we unanimously decided that the caste-based census will be conducted in a stipulated time frame. A cabinet decision will be taken soon and it will be available in the public domain…” said Nitish Kumar, himself a product of the OBC and Mandal era.
Patna, Bihar | In the meeting, we decided unanimously that the caste based census would be conducted in a stipulated time frame. A cabinet decision will be taken soon and it will be available in public domain…: Bihar CM Nitish Kumar pic.twitter.com/nILlGdqC5m
— ANI (@ANI) 1 June 2022
Leader of Opposition in Bihar Assembly Tejashwi Yadav, who also attended the all-party meeting, however, clarified that it will be a caste-based survey and not a census. “This is our victory. Today we suggested (in the all-party meeting) that social anthropologists should be included in this. The central government should help it financially. This survey is in the interest of the people of Bihar.
Yadav further said that the RJD has demanded to introduce a bill in this regard in the next cabinet meeting and start the survey in November this year. “During Chhath Puja, people living outside Bihar will also come to the state and by then we can complete the preparations,” Yadav said.
Deputy Chief Minister Tarkishore Prasad and state unit president Sanjay Jaiswal attended the meeting on behalf of the BJP.
An all-party delegation led by Nitish Kumar met the Prime Minister Narendra Modi To suppress demand last year. However, the central government eventually expressed its inability to enumerate social groups other than Dalits and Adivasis. This was opposed by the numerically powerful OBCs, who dominate politics in Bihar, especially since the 1990s when the Mandal Commission recommendations were implemented.
Therefore, it was demanded that if the Center is unwilling to do the needful, the state should get the caste enumeration done at its own expense. Kumar accepted the demand. However, the issue hangs, apparently due to the ambition shown by the BJP in the wake of its central leadership turning down the demand for a national caste census.
The BJP leadership, on the other hand, has tried to underline that it never opposed the caste census and that its members supported two resolutions passed by both houses of the state legislature, which were earlier in favor of the demand. Against this background, the state BJP president has also made a tweet clearly stating that his party will participate in the all-party meeting called today.
The meeting, which was likely to be held on May 27, was postponed in view of the fact that the hands of major state parties, CM’s JD(U), BJP and RJD, are currently full with the biennial elections in five states . Assembly seats.
(with PTI inputs)
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