Boycott census if caste headcount not done: Lalu Prasad

PATNA: Adding fresh fuel to the fire of caste-wise census demand, RJD president Lalu Prasad on Wednesday said all backwards, extremely backwards, dalits and minorities of the country may boycott the decennial census, if caste headcount is not allowed in the upcoming census 2021.
“If caste-wise enumeration of population is not done in the upcoming census 2021, all backwards, extremely backwards, Dalit and minorities from all over the country, apart from Bihar, may boycott the decennial census. When a majority of the population do not get any benefit from the census data, will we make pickles out of the animals’ counting?” Lalu tweeted.
Lalu’s statement invited sharp reaction from BJP. BJP OBC Morcha’s national general secretary and Bihar BJP spokesperson Nikhil Anand said, “Lalu’s statement is very ridiculous. Lalu wants to play an emotional card by raising the issue of caste census. He wants to save the sinking boat of his RJD. If Lalu ji is so concerned on the issue of caste census, he should first ask his ally Congress that why it committed a fraud in the name of caste census in 2011? Why the Congress conducted a socio-economic caste census (SECC) in the name of ‘caste census’ out of the purview of the Census Act? Why Congress spent Rs5,000 crore in the name of the socio-economic caste census when a consensus had emerged after a resolution in Parliament to conduct a caste census in the country?”
Anand also said the Congress government conducted only a ‘sample survey’ in the name of SECC. “Had Congress conducted a caste census in 2011, all the states would have been in a position to furnish caste-wise data? Today, the states are not in a position to provide caste data because the SECC has lakhs of discrepancies in its data,” the BJP leader said.
The demand for caste-based census has become a major issue in Bihar politics. Bihar is among the few states where both ruling party — JD(U) — and the main opposition — RJD — are in the favour of a caste-wise enumeration of population in the upcoming census.