BJP ally JDU, opposition MPs seek discussion on caste census with Home Ministry officials
Caste census was the predominant issue raised by the Opposition members at the first meeting of the parliamentary panel on the welfare of OBCs, with BJP ally JDU supporting their demand to call Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) officials to gather more information on OBCs, sources said.
Incidentally, Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India is the head of the census organisation, which operates under MHA — necessitating the presence of ministry officials at the meet.
At the first meeting of the panel, which was reconstituted earlier this month and headed by BJP MP Ganesh Singh, DMK floor leader in the Lok Sabha, TR Baalu, raised the caste census issue. He was supported by Congress Manickam Tagore and Trinamool Congress' Kalyan Banerjee. JDU's Giridhari Yadav also supported the demand.
Most MPs in the panel, with maximum members from BJP, remained 'silent' and 'did not oppose the demand'.
Tagore insisted that the demand of calling top MHA officials to discuss caste census should be listed as the first subject to be taken up for discussion by the panel. Sources said the panel may call several officials from many ministries, including the home ministry, to discuss issues related to OBCs.
JDU — a constituent of the ruling NDA — has been vocal on conducting a nationwide caste census. Bihar CM Nitish Kumar had ordered a caste-based survey and its findings were made public last year.
Sources said there was a discussion on how OBC reservation is implemented in central posts, including in IAS and IPS. The
