Rahul Gandhi praises Bihar’s caste census: ‘bigger population, bigger right’

The most senior leader of the Congress party emphasized the significance of having accurate information regarding the caste system in the country.

by Anurag Kumar updated October 2, 2023, 10:34 PM 4 Views

Monday, following the Bihar government’s publication of caste survey data, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi reiterated his call for population-based rights.

He stated that the Bihar government’s caste census demonstrates the significance of understanding the country’s caste statistics.

Other Backward Caste (OBC) and Extremely Backward Class (EBC) account for 63 percent of the state’s population, according to caste survey data released by the Bihar government. These figures have implications for the Lok Sabha elections scheduled for next year.

“According to the caste census of Bihar, 84% of the population is comprised of OBC, SC, and ST. Only 3 out of 90 Central Government secretaries are OBC, and they manage only 5% of India’s budget! Therefore, it is essential to understand India’s caste statistics. This is our vow,” Rahul Gandhi wrote on ‘X’ (previously Twitter).

Bihar’s chief minister, Nitish Kumar, congratulated the entire team engaged in the work of caste-based enumeration earlier in the day, stating that the survey not only disclosed the castes but also provided information about the economic status of each individual.

“Today, on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti, the results of the caste-based census conducted in Bihar were released. Congratulations to everyone involved in the caste-based enumeration project!” Bihar CM posted on ‘X’.

“The caste-based enumeration proposal was approved unequivocally by the legislature. With the agreement of all nine parties in the Bihar Assembly, it was decided that the state government will conduct a caste-based census using its own funds, and the Council of Ministers gave its sanction on June 6, 2022. The state government conducted a caste-based census using its own funds,” he explained.

“Not only did the caste-based census reveal the castes, but it also disclosed the economic status of everyone. On the basis of this report, additional steps will be taken for the advancement and development of all divisions,” he added.

He added that shortly a meeting of the same nine parties of the Bihar Assembly will be convened to discuss the caste-based census conducted in Bihar, and they will be informed of the results.

At a press conference in the state’s capital, the results of a caste-based survey conducted in Bihar were made public.

“The extremely backward class is 36.01 percent, the general category is 15.52 percent, and the Other Backward Caste (OBC) is 27 percent,” Additional Chief Secretary Vivek Kumar Singh stated.

According to the data, 19.65 percent of the state’s population consists of Scheduled Castes and 1.68 percent consists of Scheduled Tribes.

According to the data, Hindus account for 81.99 percent of the population, Muslims for 17.7 percent, Christians for 0.05 percent, Sikhs for 0.01 percent, Buddhists for 0.08 percent, and other religions for 0.12 percent.

According to the data, the Yadavs, the OBC group to which Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav belongs, are the largest and make up 14.27% of the state’s population.