Maha parties welcome Centre's caste based census decision

Mumbai, April 30 (IANS) Ruling and opposition parties in Maharashtra on Wednesday hailed the Centre’s decision to conduct caste based census.

The NCP president and Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar said the caste based census will help all sections of society get their just rights, adding that the government can provide more funds for the development of socially weak, deprived and neglected members of society.

“The goal of establishing social equality can be achieved quickly by helping to raise the educational and economic level of backward sections of society,” he said.

He added that the decision to conduct a caste based census is an important, revolutionary step taken by the central government towards establishing social equality.

“Many individuals, institutions and organisations have been demanding it for the past several decades. This demand could be fulfilled only due to the visionary and sensitive leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah,” he said.

The Deputy Chief Minister said that since the caste based census was not being conducted, information on the economic and social status of the population of other castes, except for the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, was not available.

“This was affecting the OBC community as well as other sections of society,” he said.

The Congress Legislature Party Leader, Vijay Wadettiwar, also welcomed the Centre’s decision, saying that the Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, has consistently raised this demand.

“The main objective behind this was to ensure that OBCs, Dalits, Tribals and Backward Classes get representation according to their population,” he said.

He added that the ruling party had clearly opposed it earlier.

“However, today such a decision has been taken suddenly. Considering that Bihar elections are being announced, it is very important to ensure that this announcement is not limited to the elections alone,” he remarked.

He added that a caste-based census is not just a count of numbers, but it is a count of the rights and opportunities of each community.

“This census can be decisive – but only if it is conducted honestly and with complete transparency. We hope that this announcement will not be just a political stunt, but a concrete step towards social justice,” he said.

The Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi founder, Prakash Ambedkar, claimed that the decision has been taken with an eye on the upcoming Bihar assembly elections.

“The government had submitted an affidavit in the Supreme Court that it cannot conduct a caste based census. Now, in the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs, they are saying that they will conduct a caste based census. This decision has been taken in the backdrop of the Bihar Assembly elections,” he said.

The Sharad Pawar-led NCP MP Supriya Sule said that for many years, their party has been continuously demanding a caste based census through various platforms, including Parliament.

“We had argued that if a caste based census is conducted, it will be possible for the government to take a decision on the demands of reservation of various caste groups. Finally, today, the Central government has decided to conduct a caste based census,” she said.

She further added that this decision will shed new light on the exact number of various castes in the country and their status.

“We welcome this decision and sincerely thank the Central government. It is hoped that this process will be started at the earliest and completed within the stipulated time,” she said.

Meanwhile, the Union Minister of State for Social Justice and Republican Party of India chief Ramdas Athavale termed the Centre’s decision revolutionary, saying the Congress did not dare to conduct the caste based census.

“Rahul Gandhi should not make any criticism now. It will help to give justice to all castes. I congratulate Prime Minister Narendra Modi,” he said.

The state Congress chief Harshwardhan Sapkal said that the Centre should implement the decision instead of keeping it during the campaign.

“The Congress party welcomes the decision. However, the party also demands that the reservation limit be increased. RSS should have its Sarsanghchalak from the OBC community in the coming time,” he added.

--IANS

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