Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, shortly after an all-party meeting on a caste census this evening, said a caste-based “count” rather than census will be held in the state to avoid any wrinkles. All parties, including the BJP, agreed on a caste count, the JDU leader said.
Talking to reporters, Mr Kumar said: “We will propose a caste-based count, not census, to avoid legal complications.”
The saffron party had earlier expressed huge reservations over a caste-based census. However, Nitish Kumar today said that all parties were on board with the suggestion, including the BJP.
“To implement this a proposal will be passed in the state cabinet. The aim is that every section of the society can progress properly,” Nitish Kumar said.
In the name of a “socio-economic survey”, many states like Karnataka, Odisha and Telangana have carried out similar caste counts.
The Congress-led UPA government had earlier carried out a national caste census, but the data was not released on technical grounds. The BJP-led NDA, however, refused to carry out a caste-based census but left it to states to go for a caste count.
The Bihar government, after the apex court rejected to take a headcount of any social group other than Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, has offered to invest in a survey on its own.
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