Saharanpur (Uttar Pradesh) [India], May 1 : Azad Samaj Party-Kanshi Ram (ASP) president Chandrashekhar Azad claimed that the central government has decided to include a caste count in the upcoming census due to the Bihar elections, and it may change its stance after the elections.
"Many in our party believe this is being discussed now because of the Bihar elections, since Nitish ji has already conducted a caste census in Bihar... We worry the current government might also reverse its stand after the Bihar elections and say they won't conduct it," Azad told ANI.
Azad stressed the need for a caste census, saying it would provide valuable data, especially regarding the backward classes.
"We understand the importance of the caste census, and I believe that if a caste census is conducted, we will get valuable data, especially regarding the backwards classes. Even the general category will get clarity about the distribution of resources--how much education people have, who owns how much land, who has jobs, etc... However, the government has only talked about it and not set any deadline for implementation," he said.
Census is a Union subject under Article 246 of the Constitution, listed at item 69 in the Union List of the Seventh Schedule.
On Wednesday, Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, while announcing the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs' decision, highlighted concerns about the transparency and intent of some states' own caste censuses, claiming that some censuses were conducted "purely from a political angle."
"While some states have conducted surveys to enumerate castes, these surveys have varied in transparency and intent, with some conducted purely from a political angle, creating doubts in society. Considering all these circumstances, and to ensure that our social fabric does not come under political pressure, it has been decided that caste enumeration should be included in the main census instead of being conducted as a separate survey," Vaishnaw said.
Bihar, Karnataka and Telangana have already conducted a caste census in their respective state. Telangana has also implemented a 42 per cent backwards class reservation for people in the state.