Bihar Chief Minister and Janata Dal (United) veteran Nitish Kumar on Sunday said that a caste-based census should be conducted at least once. He said that the entire country will benefit from this exercise.
According to NDTV, Nitish Kumar would be visiting Delhi Monday to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi to push for the caste-based census. He would be leading a 10-member delegation, which would include the BJP, which had not been keen on such a census.
“It is a crucial issue and we have been seeking this for long. It if works out, that nothing could be better than that. Moreover, it would be not just for Bihar, people in the whole country will benefit from this. It should be done at least once. We will put forward our views from this angle,” CM said.
The caste-based census has not happened in India since the British period. In July, the Union government had told Parliament that it had decided to not conduct a caste census. The only caste-wise data that the next census would collate would be on Scheduled Castes and Tribes, the same as every census in independent India’s history. India’s largest caste bloc – the Other Backward Classes – would not be included in this exercise.
JDU leader had earlier repeatedly said that a caste-based census s in everyone’s interest and concern that such a census will upset a group of people is baseless.
 veteran Nitish Kumar on Sunday said that a caste-based census should be conducted at least once.){kind=link}