Caste-based census findings should be made public, says Prashant Kishor

Election strategist-turned-politician Prashant Kishor said the findings of the survey must be made public and the data should be used for formulating policies to help the state's downtrodden sections

Asserting that the Bihar government's decision to conduct caste-based headcount in the state "is a step in the right direction, election strategist-turned-politician Prashant Kishor on Tuesday said the findings of the survey must be made public and the data should be used for formulating policies to help the state's downtrodden sections.

Addressing a gathering in Motihari, Kishor, who was earlier a part of the ruling JD(U), also stated that the exercise should not become a bone of contention among the ruling NDA partners in Bihar, where electoral politics is largely driven by caste-based equations.

The state government decision to initiate caste-based census exercise in Bihar is certainly a step in the right direction. After completion of the exercise, the survey findings must be made public and Bihar government should formulate welfare policies and schemes for downtrodden sections on the basis of that data.

The Bihar cabinet recently gave its approval to caste-based headcount, after the Centre ruled it out before Supreme Court, stating that such an exercise was administratively difficult and cumbersome" and that exclusion of information regarding any other caste, apart from SCs and STs, from the purview of census is a conscious policy decision.

Kishor further said, I must say that the Nitish Kumar government was undertaking several development projects. But the pace is very slow. I personally know CM Kumar, he is a good human beingbut that cannot be said for all who are part of the NDA government in Bihar.