Caste Census: Mamata says no objection if all parties reach consensus

Kolkata: After a 10-party delegation from Bihar headed by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi to push for a caste-based census, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday said she will accept a nationwide caste-based census if all political parties reach a consensus on the matter.

"When there will be a discussion and if a consensus is reached, I will not have any problem accepting it. I will not fight if all political parties and states reach a consensus. Let political parties, the CMs and the Central government reach a consensus," Banerjee said.

She declined to say much on the issue, saying that sentiments differ from one state to the other.

Banerjee said, "Nitish-ji has put up his questions on this issue. Let's see how others react to it." Statistics about different castes will help in formulating development schemes effectively as many of them have not benefitted so far in line with their actual population, the Bihar CM has said.

Earlier on Monday, BJP leader Janak Ram, who was part of the 10-party delegation that met Prime Minister Narendra Modi to push for a caste-based census, likened Modi to the "guardian of a family" and said whatever decision he takes on the issue will be "acceptable" to everyone.

Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Ram also took a swipe at rivals like the RJD's Tejashwi Yadav without naming them, saying many leaders advance their careers in the name of caste and community but later busy themselves in promoting their families.

Ram, a minister in the Chief Minister Nitish Kumar-led government in Bihar, who declined to make a direct comment on the caste-based census, said that PM Modi understands how the country's all-around developments should take place and he has been working on it.

Yadav and representatives of several other parties were part of the Kumar-headed delegation that met the prime minister.

Though the BJP had earlier supported two resolutions passed by the Bihar assembly in support of the demand, the party leadership has so far not taken a categorical stand on the issue which has been lapped up by a number of regional parties, many of them its rivals in different states.

Ram, however, noted that the population of the Scheduled Castes and Tribes are counted regularly and added that Modi himself comes from the Other Backward Classes. For the first time the country has a prime minister who has put development ahead of issues like caste, he added.

"Everyone expressed their views and Modi heard them patiently like the guardian of a family... Whatever decision he takes will be acceptable to all," the Dalit leader said.

Earlier on Monday, AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi has favoured caste census and also sub-categorisation of OBCs. Owaisi was quoted as saying that the population of a particular caste should be known to prepare policies for their upliftment.

Apart from AIMIM, Samajwadi Party too supported the demand saying it will initiate a caste-based census if voted to power in the next year's Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls.

Earlier on August 11, a parliamentary delegation of the BJD had submitted a memorandum to Union Home Minister Amit Shah demanding the inclusion of enumeration of Socially and Educationally Backward Classes and Other Backward Classes/Castes in the General Census 2021.

Supporting the demand for caste-based census and demanding to relax the 50 per cent cap on reservations to ensure social justice, on August 16th, NCP chief Sharad Pawar said that his party will build public opinion against the Central government on the issue.

With census being the Union's prerogative, it is now up to the Centre to take a call on the demand. The caste-based census has not taken place in the country since British rule.