Talking to reporters after meeting the chief minister, Yadav said Kumar would soon call an all-party meeting over the issue
Leader of opposition in Bihar assembly Tejashwi Yadav on Wednesday said he has full faith in Chief Minister Nitish Kumar over the issue of caste census. Talking to reporters after meeting the chief minister, Yadav said Kumar would soon call an all-party meeting over the issue.
“The chief minister has given me assurance that he would soon call an all-party meeting to discuss the modalities of conducting this exercise in the state. I have full faith in the words of CM Nitish Kumar. Since he has given us the assurance, we must wait for some time,” Yadav said. “The chief minister told me that he is also in favor of conducting the caste-based census in the state,” he added.
The RJD leader had on Tuesday accused Kumar of adopting “delaying tactics” on the promise of conducting caste-based census, and gave him an ultimatum of 48 to 72 hours to set the process in motion. Kumar had last year led an all-party delegation, of which Yadav was also a part, to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi to press the demand for a census of all castes.
Upon the Centre’s refusal, he had indicated that he was ready to conduct a state-specific survey after convening an all-party meeting. A census of all castes was last conducted in 1921 and leaders of Bihar are of the view that a fresh estimate of the population was essential to formulate policies that squarely addressed the needs of social groups.
