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Samjawadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Monday demanded that a caste census be conducted, saying it was necessary for inclusive growth. "Caste census is not a new demand of the party. Earlier also various parties and SP had made this demand. 'Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas' (with all, for everyone's development) is possible only when caste census is done," Yadav told reporters in assembly premises. Attacking Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Yadav said, "he (CM) has come from another state, he has nothing to do with the state's caste census. People can get due honour after the caste census otherwise dreams of Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar will remain unfulfilled". He also termed as "unfortunate" the Kapur incident in which a 45-year-old woman and her daughter allegedly immolated themselves during an anti-encroachment drive.
The Supreme Court on Thursday agreed to hear on January 20 a plea against the Bihar government's decision to conduct a caste census in the state. A bench of Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justice P S Narasimha posted the matter for hearing after advocate Barun Kumar Sinha appearing for the petitioner mentioned the matter. The apex court noted that a similar matter had been posted for hearing on January 20. The top court was hearing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) seeking to restrain the authorities from conducting the caste survey in the state. The petitioner, Akhilesh Kumar, has sought quashing of the notification dated June 6, 2022 issued by the Bihar government to conduct a caste survey in the state. The plea contended that the subject of the census falls in List 1 of the 7th Schedule of the Constitution and only the Centre has the power to hold the exercise. The PIL has alleged that the notification violated Article 14 of the Constitution which provides for equality befo
Former Rajya Sabha MP and BJP leader CP Thakur on Wednesday opposed Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's call for having a caste-based census.Speaking to ANI, Thakur said, "I believe that having a caste-based census is a useless idea. I believe that the government is already providing enough benefits to people belonging to the backward community. This census can do more harm than good. Nowadays, marriages are also happening on inter-caste basis.""I think that Nitish ji has a different ideology in this matter. I will say it again that it is a completely useless thing to do. This census will not benefit anyone. It is just a part of pressure politics. I strongly believe that our Prime Minister has done everything in his hand to promote the welfare of the backward community," he said.The BJP leader suggested that the state should focus on providing better quality of education to the people of the state. "We see a large number of people from Bihar go to Delhi for higher studies. I think ...
The Census 2021 exercise, when carried out, will enumerate only those SCs and STs that were notified through the constitutional orders of 1950, the government informed Parliament on Tuesday. Union minister Nityanand Rai said this in a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha on whether the government is planning to undertake a caste census along with the General Decennial Census 2021. "In Census, the castes and tribes which are specifically notified as Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) as per the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order 1950 and the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order, 1950, as amended from time to time, are enumerated," he said. Rai said the Socio-Economic and Caste Census (SECC) 2011 was conducted by the Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD) and the then Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation (HUPA) in rural and urban areas respectively and the SECC 2011 data, excluding the caste data, have been finalised and published by MoRD and ...