NEW DELHI: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Opposition bloc INDIA engaged in a war of words after the Bihar caste survey was released by the state government on Monday, revealing that Other Backward Classes (OBCs) and Extremely Backward Classes (EBCs) constitute more than 63 per cent of the population of Bihar.
With the parties of the INDIA bloc welcoming the report on caste in Bihar, the chorus for nationwide caste-based data has grown.
JDU leader and Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and his ally and RJD patriarch Lalu Prasad Yadav termed the publication of the report “historic”, while the BJP and other prominent parties of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) criticised the Bihar government calling the report an “eye wash”.
Kumar said the publication of the report has coincided with Gandhi Jayanti and congratulated the survey team for its work.
He said a meeting of the nine political parties in the Bihar Assembly, who had unanimously voted in support of the survey, will be called soon, and they will be informed about the its findings.
“The caste survey has also provided information about the economic condition of various castes. Steps will be taken for the development of all communities on the basis of this data,” he said in a post on X, formerly Twitter.
RJD founder and former Chief Minister Lalu Yadav, too, welcomed the survey report and said the exercise was completed despite “BJP’s conspiracies and legal hurdles”.
“These figures will set a benchmark for the country in giving representation to deprived and oppressed sections and the poor as per their population and to make policies for their development,” he posted on X.
Lalu Yadav said that the central government should ensure that sections of the society get a share in development as per their numbers. “We will get a caste Census done when we form the government in 2024,” the RJD leader said.
Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav also congratulated and thanked the entire nation and the people of Bihar.
He said that the government did historic work on a historic day by releasing the survey.
“It has been our demand since the start…In the elections too it has been an important topic…. We have conducted the survey in very little time after forming the government…Today on a historic day we have done historic work…Our fight has been for social justice and economic justice. So, the government will make an effort for the same…We will try to bring in welfare schemes based on scientific data,” Tejashwi Yadav said.
Yadav also thanked former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister late Mulayam Singh Yadav and late Sharad Yadav for supporting the idea of a census. Sharing insights into the survey findings, he said, “64 per cent are backward and 20 per cent are SC, STs. This data shows that roughly 85 per cent are from the marginalised section of society. This has come before everyone in the country. Our fight has been for social justice and economic justice, to bring to the mainstream those who are weak.” (IANS)
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