On Saturday, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar told reporters that a delegation of leaders from 10 different parties would be visiting Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday to demand a pan India caste-based Census.
“A delegation, comprising a representative each from 10 parties, is going to meet PM Narendra Modi on Monday over demand for a caste Census,” CM Nitish Kumar said on Saturday.
“It is the desire of the people that there must be a caste Census. I hope there will be a positive discussion on this,” he added.
Nitish Kumar, the de facto chief of Janata Dal (United), has been at the forefront of demanding the caste-based census for quite some time now.
After the Union minister of state for home, Nityanand Rai averred in the Lok Sabha that the Centre would not count the population as per the caste division, while Nitish Kumar suggested otherwise.
On July 24, the Bihar CM tweeted, “We believe there should be a caste-based census. The Bihar legislature had unanimously passed a resolution to this effect on February 17, 2019, and again on February 27, 2020, and sent it to the central government. The Centre should reconsider the issue.”
He again stated his demand after his party’s national executive meeting in Delhi on July 31. Nitish Kumar had assured that he would appeal for the census and will seek an appointment with Prime Minister Narendra Modi to discuss on similar grounds.
He averred that “Divergent stands adopted by his party and the BJP, which heads the Union government, on the issue will not affect the NDA coalition.”
“There will be no impact (on the coalition). The bicameral legislature in Bihar has passed resolutions twice in support of a caste-based Census. All parties had voted in favour on both occasions,” the Bihar CM had said.