Bihar CM Nitish Kumar-led 10-party team to meet PM Modi on August 23

PATNA: A day before meeting PM Narendra Modi with an all-party delegation from Bihar, CM Nitish Kumar on Sunday reiterated that caste-based census should be held across the country at least once.
Responding to a media query, Nitish said the demand for caste census was an important issue. "We have been demanding it for a long time," he added.
Nitish will lead an 11-member delegation of 10 political parties from Bihar and meet the PM in New Delhi on Monday to press for caste-based census in the country. The meeting will be held at 11am.
"The people of Bihar are not the only ones asking for a caste-based census but the entire country is in favour of it. Leaders of all political parties from Bihar will together meet the PM and put forward this demand," Nitish said.
The CM and some other members of the delegation reached Delhi on Sunday. Leader of opposition in Bihar assembly Tejashwi Prasad Yadav, who will represent RJD in the delegation, too is in Delhi.
The long-pending demand for a caste census was revived in July this year after the Centre informed the Lok Sabha it would not enumerate population caste-wise, except those from SCs and STs. Earlier, Maharashtra and Odisha governments too had requested the Centre to collect caste details in the forthcoming census.