Ranchi: An all-party delegation from Jharkhand led by the Chief Minister of the state Hemant Soren met the Union Home Minister Amit Shah Demand for caste based census on Sunday. However, the delegation did not demand a separate column for one Sarna Religion in practice.
Later, the delegation returned empty handed as Shah indicated that the Center was not inclined to implement the demand and also cited administrative difficulties.
The CM’s delegation included representatives from ruling coalition partners, Congress and RJD as well as opposition BJP, Left parties such as CPI(ML), CPI and CPM.
The state unit of the BJP, which had earlier refused to be a part of the delegation, took a U-turn and its president Deepak Prakash joined in the effort to keep its vote bank in a good mood. BJP’s NDA ally AJSU Party president Sudesh Mahto could not join the delegation due to his late arrival in New Delhi.
In a 30-minute meeting over tea and ice cream, Soren submitted a four-page memorandum to Shah advocating its need. caste census. Terming the Centre’s decision as unfortunate, the memorandum justified the need for the survey, saying it would help in providing reservation to the backward class people and shed light on the socio-economic inequalities in the society.
“Policy makers will be able to devise a better welfare blueprint which will help in the upliftment of the people belonging to the backward classes. It will also help in creating a dedicated commission for socially backward classes, which has been mandated in the Constitution,” reads the memorandum.
After the meeting, Soren said in New Delhi, ‘We have passed a resolution in favor of caste-based census (on September 9) in the Jharkhand Legislative Assembly. We shared the sentiments of the state on this issue with the Union Home Minister.”
Speaking to TOI over phone, state Rural Development Minister and Congress leader, who was part of the delegation, Alamgir Alam, said, “Shah reiterated that it was difficult and cumbersome to conduct a caste-based census. He has not assured to reconsider the stand of the Center that it will go ahead with the census without any enumeration on the basis of caste.”
Jharkhand Congress President Rajesh Thakur said that since the Center has not fulfilled the demands of the delegation, all like-minded parties will stage a sit-in in Ranchi and decide the future course of action. “Census is a central subject and state governments have no role in it. We had requested the Union Minister to reconsider his government’s stand and we will wait and see what is being done. After the agraha (request), we will do satyagraha,” Thakur told TOI.
However, the delegation’s role raised several eyebrows after the demand for a separate column for Sarna in the census was not mentioned, for which a resolution was passed by the Jharkhand Assembly in November last year. “The demand was dropped after several political parties in the delegation expressed their objection to it. The CM will soon lead another delegation of social organizations on the issue,” a senior member of the JMM leadership told TOI on anonymity.
Later, the delegation returned empty handed as Shah indicated that the Center was not inclined to implement the demand and also cited administrative difficulties.
The CM’s delegation included representatives from ruling coalition partners, Congress and RJD as well as opposition BJP, Left parties such as CPI(ML), CPI and CPM.
The state unit of the BJP, which had earlier refused to be a part of the delegation, took a U-turn and its president Deepak Prakash joined in the effort to keep its vote bank in a good mood. BJP’s NDA ally AJSU Party president Sudesh Mahto could not join the delegation due to his late arrival in New Delhi.
In a 30-minute meeting over tea and ice cream, Soren submitted a four-page memorandum to Shah advocating its need. caste census. Terming the Centre’s decision as unfortunate, the memorandum justified the need for the survey, saying it would help in providing reservation to the backward class people and shed light on the socio-economic inequalities in the society.
“Policy makers will be able to devise a better welfare blueprint which will help in the upliftment of the people belonging to the backward classes. It will also help in creating a dedicated commission for socially backward classes, which has been mandated in the Constitution,” reads the memorandum.
After the meeting, Soren said in New Delhi, ‘We have passed a resolution in favor of caste-based census (on September 9) in the Jharkhand Legislative Assembly. We shared the sentiments of the state on this issue with the Union Home Minister.”
Speaking to TOI over phone, state Rural Development Minister and Congress leader, who was part of the delegation, Alamgir Alam, said, “Shah reiterated that it was difficult and cumbersome to conduct a caste-based census. He has not assured to reconsider the stand of the Center that it will go ahead with the census without any enumeration on the basis of caste.”
Jharkhand Congress President Rajesh Thakur said that since the Center has not fulfilled the demands of the delegation, all like-minded parties will stage a sit-in in Ranchi and decide the future course of action. “Census is a central subject and state governments have no role in it. We had requested the Union Minister to reconsider his government’s stand and we will wait and see what is being done. After the agraha (request), we will do satyagraha,” Thakur told TOI.
However, the delegation’s role raised several eyebrows after the demand for a separate column for Sarna in the census was not mentioned, for which a resolution was passed by the Jharkhand Assembly in November last year. “The demand was dropped after several political parties in the delegation expressed their objection to it. The CM will soon lead another delegation of social organizations on the issue,” a senior member of the JMM leadership told TOI on anonymity.
.