PM hasn’t denied our demand, says Nitish Kumar as leaders of 11 Bihar parties meet Modi over having caste census

Aditi Tandon

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, August 23

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Monday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi hadn’t as of now denied the collective demand of Bihar parties to have a caste census.

After meeting the PM along with leaders of 10 other parties to press for a caste census, JDU leader Nitish Kumar said, “We gave a detailed account of why we want a caste census. We presented all the arguments in favour of our case. The PM gave us a patient hearing and he has not denied our demand for a caste census as of now.”

Leader of opposition in Bihar Assembly and RJD head Tejashwi Yadav, after the meeting, said he was thankful to the PM and everyone now awaited his decision.

Questioning the perception that caste census would lead to divisions in society, Tejashwi said, “If caste census will lead to violence and chaos why are we counting people based on religion? Is it not the same issue? As far as the exit cost apprehension goes, that is misplaced because the census of SCs and STs has already been done. All you have to do is add one more column.”

Tejashwi said, “Animals and trees are also being counted. Only once you know how many heads are there under the OBC segment will you be able to implement policies properly.:

JDU, BJP, RJD, Congress, HAM, CPI, CPIML and LJP are among the parties represented at the PM’s meeting.

The meeting came days after the government clarified in Parliament that the pending Census 2021 exercise would count only the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes as per the current practice, and not the OBCs.

The demand for caste-based census had recently intensified at the time of the passage of the Constitution (127th) Amendment Bill in both Houses. The Bill enables states to enlist OBCs at their own level, over and above a central OBC list.

The BJP has been arguing that the makers of the Constitution had a reason behind dropping the idea of a caste census which was last conducted in 1931 and retaining the need to count SCs and STs.

The ruling party members also say that caste-based census could potentially divide society, by further deepening fault lines.

Politically too, commissioning a caste-based census could put the BJP in a dock in Uttar Pradesh where elections are due in 2022.

The BJP's 2017 sweep in UP came from a cross-section support of OBCs and upper castes.

Closer to 2022 state polls, the BJP is hoping for the Ram Temple construction to emerge as a major electoral issue with significant emotional resonance, especially among the upper castes.

Commissioning of a caste census could trigger suspicions - a possibility the BJP may not like to nurture on the UP election eve.

Given these dilemmas, it remains to be seen how the ruling BJP balances the growing demands for caste census with real politics.

Caste census is being backed not only by the SP, BSP, DMK and NCP but also BJP's allies like the JDU in Bihar and Apna Dal in UP.

In fact, BJP's Lok Sabha MP from Badaun, Sanghamitra Maurya, during the debate on the OBC bill recently, backed a caste census saying, "Even cattle have been counted but not OBCs."

The proponents of caste census further argue that the exact count of OBCs would ensure proper policy benefits.

The Mandal Commission had estimated the OBC count in India at 52 per cent, but estimates have varied. The National Sample Survey Organisation in 2007 had put the OBC count at 41 per cent.

The exact number of OBCs would also have major implications for the reservation debate.