Breaking with Centre leadership, Bihar BJP supports caste census
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Patna: The Bihar unit of the BJP on Wednesday closed ranks with other parties in the state, favouring the Chief Ministers Nitish Kumar's proposal for a caste census.
The state BJP's decision flies in the face of the central leadership of the party, which is dead against a nationwide caste census.
The state leadership must have found the party becoming a lone woof after nine other parties in Bihar supported the case census.
After an all-party meeting yesterday Nitish Kumar said the state was to go ahead with caste census, according to The Indian Express.
He said that the state cabinet would shortly set a deadline for completion of census, as well as allocating funds for the census.
Political parties in Bihar, according to him, met the Prime Minister Modi last year requesting for a nationwide caste census.
BJP's state president Sanjay Jaiswal and BJP's Deputy Chief Minister Tarkishore Prasad attended the meeting called by the Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, where a consensus reached on caste census.
Opposition leader Tejashwi Prasad Yadav and Rajya Sabha MP Manoj Kumar Jha represented the RJD in the discussion and AIMIM Bihar chief Akhtarul Iman too was present, according to The Indian Express.
Throwing his weight behind the caste census, Tejashwi Prasad Yadav said his party had long been demanding it.
BJP's changed stand on caste census shows the difficult situation the party has found itself in.
Only a few months ago, a senior BJP leader Nityanand Rai told the parliament that the caste census could not be carried out.
The Centre earlier termed caste census "problematic and erroneous" alongside calling it 'impractical".
BJP national spokesperson Guru Prakash Paswan earlier said that caste census alone could not ensure social justice.
BJP, he said, took several steps to meet its goals of development for all:" Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas".
Obviously, Bihar BJP leadership does not want to buy into the Centre's stand on caste census, fearing that it will be isolated in the state.
The party been batting for the proposal in the very beginning when it was first mooted in the state.
The state BJP leadership joined the all-party delegation that PM Modi last year to press for the caste census.