Samastipur (Bihar) [India]: A delegation of leaders from 10 parties will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday over the demand for a caste-based census, said Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. “A delegation comprising a representative each from 10 parties, is going to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday over demand for a caste-based census. It is the desire of the people that there must be a caste-based census. I hope there will be a positive discussion on this. If the caste census is not conducted by the Centre in the country, then it will be considered by the government in Bihar,” Kumar told reporters here. Asked about Janata Dal (United) contesting Uttar Pradesh elections, he said, “This has been discussed in the meeting of the National Council. The leaders of the party are looking into it.” Earlier today, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar visited the flood-affected areas of Samastipur district. “Relief work is being done by the government for the people affected by the floods. The water level of the Ganga is going down,” he said Notably, the delegation to meet PM Modi will include Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav. “I had sought an appointment with the Prime Minister to meet him along with a delegation from Bihar to conduct the caste-based census. Many thanks to the respected Prime Minister for giving time to meet on August 23,” Nitish Kumar had said in an official statement earlier. Kumar’s Janata Dal (United) is an ally of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Bihar and favours a caste-based census. He has been advocating for a caste-based census in the country and had thus sought an appointment with the Prime Minister. “The demand of the caste census is not just the demand from Bihar but other states also. Our party MPs had written a letter seeking time to meet the Prime Minister. The opposition parties in Bihar also wanted to meet the Prime Minister with us. We had written a letter to the Prime Minister regarding this,” he had said earlier. The caste-based census and its impact on the country’s political landscape remain a sensitive issue for the government, given the fact that seven states will go for assembly polls over the next year. Nitish Kumar had said a resolution regarding the caste-based census was passed unanimously in Bihar Legislative Assembly as well as the Legislative Council in 2019. A resolution was passed unanimously once again in 2020 in the state Legislative Assembly.
