Lalu Prasad bats for caste census, claims Arun Jaitley had given written assurance

RJD supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav has said that the caste census must be conducted in Bihar. He added that when he was a Member of Parliament, he along with other people, fought for the caste census in the Lok Sabha. Lalu Yadav added that the caste census is expected from the central government.

New Delhi: RJD supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav has said that the caste census must be conducted in Bihar. He added that when he was a Member of Parliament, he along with other people, fought for the issue in the Lok Sabha.

The former Bihar Chief Minister said that the late Arun Jaitley had given a written assurance to us and we are hopeful about it. To understand the population and economic condition of the weaker section, the caste census should be done. Lalu Yadav added that the caste census is expected from the central government. There is no question of the caste issue in this. If the caste figures are released, it will help the government in formulating policies and budgets.

Today, Lalu Prasad Yadav, visited the All Indian Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Delhi for a routine checkup. He spoke to the media and advocated for the caste census in Bihar.

The demand for caste census in Bihar is increasing. An all-party delegation of Bihar led by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has recently met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on this issue. In this meeting, there were 11 leaders representing 10 political parties including Leader of Opposition Tejashwi Yadav. All parties in Bihar including the state BJP leadership are speaking in unison about the need for the caste based head count in Bihar.

The political parties in Bihar believe that the benefits of government schemes will reach the poor and extremely backward classes once the actual numbers of castes are known. It will also help in making and planning better development programs based on the numbers of economically and socially weaker castes.

At the same time, the BJP national leadership is not in favour of the caste census in Bihar. As per BJP, the caste census will cause friction in society. The central government is already taking special care of people of every section of society. However, the BJP leadership of Bihar has also supported the caste census. The decision of conducting the caste census lies with the central government. So far, there is no announcement by the central government.