Caste census: Union govt accepts TN’s request

Opposition leader, Rahul Gandhi, has been actively pushing for caste census across the country. The census has been a key electoral promise of the ruling BJP. Many state governments have also expressed their willingness to conduct the census.
A resolution emphasizing the need for caste census was passed by the Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalin in the state assembly last year. While proposing the resolution, Stalin had urged the union government that a caste-based census is necessary to ensure that all people have equal rights and opportunities in education, economy, and employment, and that a caste census should be conducted along with the population census.
Meanwhile, BJP leaders have been opposing the caste census, and even the BJP leadership did not support it. Endorsing the state government’s resolution, the BJP has bowed down and retreated its position.
Speaking to reporters in New Delhi on Wednesday, Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnav said, “The Union Cabinet has approved conducting a caste census along with the population census across the country. There is no need to conduct a separate caste census at the state level.” This is again a major victory for Tamil Nadu.
There is widespread criticism that the announcement was due to the upcoming Bihar elections. The Janata Dal-United & BJP coalition government is in power in Bihar. With the assembly elections due to be held soon in the state, the caste census issue has caused a major setback for the BJP coalition government. Various parties, including the Congress, are raising this issue constantly. Political commentators said that the Union BJP government has no other option but to conduct a caste census targeting the Bihar elections.
The minister did not clarify when the next census will be conducted. In any case, it is a commendable move that the union government has announced a caste-wise population census, as if endorsing the resolution passed in the state assembly. All party leaders are welcoming the move.
Now, without delay, the Union Government should take steps to fix a time frame for the same and start the census work as soon as possible.