Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has, in principle, agreed to take up the issue of caste-based census with the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Leader of Opposition Tejashwi Yadav claimed here on Friday. Yadav said this while talking to reporters after meeting the Chief Minister inside the assembly premises.
The Centre’s recent statement in Parliament that the caste-based census would cover only Scheduled Tribes and Scheduled Castes has triggered a fresh demand for inclusion of OBCs, which dominated the political landscape in Bihar after the implementation of the Mandal Commission report. Huh. “The chief minister told us that he agrees with our demand for a caste-based census. He said that he was leaving for Delhi later in the day. On his return on August 2, he will write a letter to the Prime Minister seeking an appointment.
The former deputy CM is suggesting that the chief minister should meet the PM while leading a delegation, which may include leaders of the opposition, to discuss the matter. Notably, Kumar, an OBC, has also repeatedly spoken in favor of conducting a caste-based census and recently urged the Center to reconsider its stand on the issue.
In addition, in the past, resolutions in support of caste-based census have been passed unanimously by both houses of the state legislature. Yadav claimed, “We also proposed that in case the Centre’s demand is not agreed upon, the state should consider taking such an exercise on its own as Karnataka did a few years back. The Bihar Chief Minister said that he was not aware of this, but he would consider this option as well.
A “Social and Educational Survey” was conducted in the southern state in 2015. Presently the Congress, which was in power at the time, is at odds with the ruling BJP over its apparent reluctance to make its findings public. The RJD leader sought to broaden the questions regarding alleged derogatory remarks against Biharis by an MP of the ruling Trinamool Congress in West Bengal.
“I myself have not heard the statement. Yesterday you (journalist) came to me with a statement made by a TMC MP, who has sought to refute the remarks attributed to him”, said Yadav, referring to Mohua Moitra’s controversial statements. Said while doing BJP MP from Godda in Jharkhand Nishikant Dubey has accused him. Calling him a “Bihari goon” during a meeting of the Parliamentary Committee on Information Technology on Wednesday.
Senior BJP leaders like Sushil Kumar Modi and Shahnawaz Hussain, besides Hindustani Awam Morcha President Jitan Ram Manjhi strongly condemned the alleged derogatory remarks. When pointed out that his father Lalu Prasad was accused of favoring the people of Bihar during his tenure as railway minister, Yadav quipped, “Such things should not be said. People from all parts of the country are free to take up jobs or get opportunities wherever they want.”
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