PATNA: Reiterating his demand for a countrywide caste Census, Bihar CM Nitish Kumar on Sunday said it is the need of the hour and the Centre should reconsider its decision against it.
“Caste Census is in the interest of the country,” he said. The Centre, in an affidavit in the Supreme Court recently, virtually ruled out holding a caste census. Nitish said the matter in the apex court was was not directly related to the caste census. “It is related to the socio-economic caste Census of 2011,” he pointed out.
Talking to reporters after participating in a review meeting on left wing extremism with Union home minister Amit Shah at Delhi, Nitish said caste Census is pro-development and it will help policymakers frame targeted welfare policies for the backward castes.
To a query whether he would hold a caste Census in Bihar, CM Nitish said he would convene an all-party meeting in the state to decide the future course of action on the issue.
