Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) president Mayawati on Wednesday pitched for a caste-based census, describing the issue as an important step towards social justice, like the implementation of Mandal Commission recommendations. She said such count was necessary to bring the poor, weak, neglected and exploited people into the mainstream by making them proper partners in the development of the country and wondered why the BJP was not ready for it.
“The issue of caste census, like the implementation of the recommendation of the Mandal Commission, is not only an important matter of politics but also of social justice,” said Ms. Mayawati.
The former four-time Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister added, “After the Patna High Court upheld the caste census being conducted by the Bihar government to make a development plan according to the correct assessment of the economic, educational and social condition of the Other Backward Classes [OBCs], all eyes are now on Uttar Pradesh, and when is this necessary assessment starts?,” she asked.
Ms. Mayawati termed the BJP government’s stand against caste census worrying, adding the BSP demanded for it at the State and national-level. “After the caste census in many States, the demand for conducting it in Uttar Pradesh is also gaining momentum, but the present BJP government does not seem ready for it, this is worrying,” said the BSP president, whose party enjoys considerable support among the Dalits.
