Nitish Kumar and Tejaswi Yadav will meet the Prime Minister together on the issue of caste census

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Tejaswi Yadav are set to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi demanding a caste census. This is the first time that Nitish Kumar and Tejaswi Yadav have collaborated on an issue. But the central government does not agree with the demand for a caste census.

The JDU, an NDA ally, is in line with the demand of the opposition parties for a caste census. Tejaswi Yadav, Nitish Kumar and other opposition party representatives will meet the Prime Minister on Monday on the issue. The collaboration with Tejaswi in the caste census comes after Nitish demanded an inquiry into Pegasus. The JDU rejected the question as to whether the intention was to indicate that it could cooperate with the RJD. The JDU is of the view that the party is part of the NDA and co-operates on a common issue.

Earlier, Tejaswi Yadav had said that it is insulting for Chief Minister Nitish Kumar for not giving him time to meet the Prime Minister in the caste census. Although the central government does not agree, some BJP leaders in Bihar have publicly called for a caste census. According to reports, some BJP leaders will be in the group to meet the Prime Minister.The BJP is facing a crisis as the demand for caste census is mounting ahead of elections in states including Uttar Pradesh.

In response to a question in Parliament, the Home Ministry had said that the government was of the view that census of castes other than SCST should not be conducted. The last caste census in the country was conducted in 1931. The data was collected in 2011 but was not released due to several discrepancies.

Pic Courtesy: google/ images are subject to copyright