PATNA: Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar on Tuesday responded to opposition to the state’s caste survey on grounds that only the central government can conduct a census, saying the exercise conducted by the state was not a census and there was no reason to oppose it.
“We are not doing a census. It has been made clear at the outset. It is a counting. In a census, information is collected about castes under the Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe and minorities We have been saying for a long time that the same should be done for others, but it wasn’t done. It (census) should have been done in 2021. So much time has elapsed, but census could not be started,” Kumar told reporters on the sidelines of an event to open the building of Nalanda Open University (NOU) in Nalanda.
Kumar’s assertion comes a day after the central government told the Supreme Court in an affidavit that only the Centre is empowered under the Constitution to carry out a census. In a two-page affidavit, the Centre underlined that census is enumerated as a subject under Entry 69 in the Union List of the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution.
“In the exercise of the powers under the said Entry, the central government has made the Census Act, 1948. The said Act empowers only the central government to conduct the census under Section 3 of the Census Act,” the affidavit filed on Monday evening.
The Bihar survey, however, is not being conducted under the provisions of the Census Act.
To be sure, the caste survey conducted by the central government along with the 2011 census also was not carried out under the Census Act 1948, which guarantees the confidentiality of data collected in the headcount and imposes restrictions on the use of the information collected.
Kumar underlined that a full-fledged caste survey was conducted only once before Independence, in 1931
“It was done once prior to independence. This is not just religion or caste-based counting, but a lot of things are also being done with it. We are also collecting details about the economic condition of different groups – be it upper castes, Other Backward Classes, Extremely Backward Classes, SC, ST, minorities, to plan for their development. We are doing it for the welfare of all,” Kumar added.
The chief minister insisted that there was no reason for anyone to have any concerns about the counting of castes. “The survey part is over and once the data is processed, it will be published for all to have a proper understanding,” he added.
Nitish Kumar’s party, the Janata Dal-United, also took a swipe at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government over the central government’s affidavit on Monday
Bihar’s parliamentary affairs minister Vijay Kumar Choudhary said the Centre’s affidavit in the Supreme Court reiterated the point made by the petitioners. “The sad part is that the stand of the petitioners and the Central government is the same – that census is in the union list,” he said, stressing that the two affidavits filed by the Centre on the topic reflected the confusion in the central government over its stand.
On Monday, the central government first filed an affidavit that directly opposed Bihar’s move, asserting that it is only the Union government that is entitled not only to carry out a census but also “any action akin to census”. Hours later, another affidavit was filed to do away with the paragraph that disputed the authority of states to conduct “any action akin to census”.
Choudhary said: “When the BJP found that things were drifting away from them, the solicitor general stepped in to intervene with Centre’s position. Now, what else is required to unmask the BJP. They have themselves unmasked themselves. They tried to get so many PILs filed to derail the process and when nothing worked, they are now doing this,” he added.
Ahead of the meeting of INDIA group in Mumbai on September 1, Nitish Kumar also reiterated his stand that the general elections could be advanced by the government. “I have been saying that the Centre has the power to do so. You never know. Therefore, I keep saying that everyone should be fully prepared for early elections also.”
Kumar repeated that his sole objective was to bring all non-BJP parties on one platform to put up a strong and united fight against the BJP, which he said, was proving dangerous for the country. “I am going to Mumbai. I have no personal ambition. All I want is a united fight against the BJP. I have been saying it time and again,” he added.
On Monday, Kumar said that he was not interested in being the convenor of the opposition bloc and declared that someone else could be given the post.
