Bihar's transgender leader says asking 'caste is a crime'

Mahagathbandhan led Bihar government claims that caste based census will help to improve lives of people but transgender says questioning the caste of a person is crime.

Patna :The seven-party government in Bihar claims that the caste-based census will help to improve lives of people in the state, Reshma Prasad, the transgender leader of the state has, however, claimed that questioning the caste of a person is a crime.

"Whenever caste becomes a talking point in society, they cannot discuss equality. As a result, inequality spreads in society. I firmly believe that the government has no right to ask the caste of a person. Who is the government to ask the caste of a person. If they are interested in the welfare of people, they should close the Special Marriage Act. Whoever talks about caste and religion, they are declared as communal persons. The government should clarify the parameters on which it is conducting a caste-based census in Bihar," Prasad said.

"The leaders here do not want Bihar to move away from the casteism. However, there are many good leaders in Bihar who went ahead and did inter-caste and community marriages to break the casteist bonds," she added.

"If the caste-based census is taking place in Bihar, it is considered a crime. It is not logical to make casteism alive in Bihar. It is against social equality and socialist values. The leaders of Bihar are just doing politics over the caste for years. When we are saying that we belong to transgender community, the government has put us under the OBC category which is based on caste," she said. BJP, the main Opposition party in Bihar, already claimed that the caste- based census will increase communal tension in Bihar. (IANS)