The Uttar Pradesh government has no plans to conduct a caste census in the State, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said on August 10.
Mr. Adityanath’s statement came in response to a question by Samajwadi Party (SP) MLA Sangram Yadav in the Assembly.
The statement holds significance as the Opposition parties and the allies of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) are continuously pushing for a caste-based census in the State.
“The subject matter of census is mentioned at number 69 of the Union List in the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution of India. Census Act 1948 and Census Rules 1990 have been made by the Government of India for census, under which the work of census is done by the Government of India,” said Mr. Adityanath in the written reply.
‘BJP not for equality’
The SP reacted sharply to the statement saying that it vindicated the Opposition stand that the saffron party didn’t want equality and upliftment of deprived caste groups. “The statement highlights the BJP’s hatred towards the marginalised and deprived caste groups. The SP and our leader Akhileshji always pointed that caste-based census alone could ensure the development of every section in society. Without knowing the actual count of various caste groups, their development is incomplete. For designing policies, it is needed to know the population of every caste group. Sabka saath, sabka vikas is not possible without caste census,” SP national spokesperson Sunil Singh Yadav said.
Many political parties in U.P., including the Opposition SP, the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), the Congress, and even the BJP allies such as the Apna Dal (Sonelal) and the Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP), have continuously demanded a caste census. They said that it is an important step towards social justice and to bring the poor, neglected and exploited people of society into the mainstream.
