Samajwadi Party to initiate caste census if voted to power in UP Assembly polls

By PTI

LUCKNOW: The Samajwadi Party on Monday said it will initiate a caste-based census if voted to power in the next year’s Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls.

The statement by the party came hours after a delegation of 10 parties from Bihar headed by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in support of a caste-based census.

National spokesperson of SP Ashutosh Verma on Monday told PTI that from the very beginning, the party has been backing a caste-based census.

“Which scheme should be implemented and in which manner so that best results can be obtained, for this a caste-based census has to be done. Otherwise, implementing schemes will be more or less shooting in the dark, which has been happening till now,” he said, reiterating the demand for it.

Stressing on taking development schemes to the last man in society, Verma said, “”If voted to power in UP, the SP will conduct a caste-based census at its own cost.”

SP chief Akhilesh Yadav has himself announced this.

“The stand of the SP on the caste-based census is absolutely clear. And, we believe in ‘jiski jitni sankhya bhaari, utni uski hissedaari’ — (partnership in government should be proportional to the numbers of a community),” Verma said.

He also said the ruling BJP is not giving encouraging indications for the caste-based census.

Earlier in the day, a delegation of 10 parties headed by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on Monday in support of the demand.

Kumar asserted that statistics about different castes will help in formulating development schemes effectively as many of them have not benefited so far in line with their actual population.

RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav, who was part of the delegation, said such a census was in national interest and will be a historic measure and help the poor and the most deprived sections of the society.

If animals and trees can be counted, so can people, he said.

Kumar was joined by representatives of all major parties, including the BJP and Congress, as they submitted their demand to Modi.