"Greater population, greater rights": Rahul Gandhi on caste census of Bihar

New Delhi [India], October 2 (ANI): After the Bihar Government released caste survey data, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday reiterated his demands to give people rights based on their population.
He said that the ste-census">caste census of the Bihar government shows the importance of knowing the caste statistics of the country.
The Bihar government released caste survey data, with the figures that have ramifications for the Lok Sabha polls next year, showing that Other Backward Caste (OBC) and Extremely Backward Class (EBC) together account for 63 per cent of the state’s population.
"The ste-census">caste census of Bihar has revealed that OBC + SC + ST are 84% there. Out of 90 secretaries of the Central Government, only 3 are OBC, who handle only 5% of India's budget! Therefore, it is important to know the caste statistics of India. The greater the population, the greater the rights – this is our pledge," Rahul Gandhi posted on 'X' (Formerly Twitter).
Earlier in the day, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar congratulated the entire team engaged in the work of caste-based enumeration stating that the survey not only revealed the castes but also gave information about the economic condition of everyone.
"Today, on the auspicious occasion of Gandhi Jayanti, the data of the caste-based census conducted in Bihar has been published. Many congratulations to the entire team engaged in the work of caste-based enumeration!" Bihar CM posted on 'X'.
"The proposal for caste-based enumeration was passed unanimously in the Legislature. It was decided with the consent of all 9 parties of the Bihar Assembly that the state government will conduct a caste-based census from its own resources and its approval was given by the Council of Ministers on June 6, 2022. On this basis, the state government has conducted caste-based census from its own resources," he said.
"Caste-based census not only revealed the castes but also gave information about the economic condition of everyone. On the basis of this report, further action will be taken for the development and upliftment of all sections,” he added.
He further said that soon a meeting of the same 9 parties of Bihar Assembly will be called regarding the caste-based census conducted in Bihar and they will be informed about the results of the caste-based census.
The report of the caste-based survey conducted in Bihar was released at a press conference in the state capital.
“The extremely backward class is 36.01 per cent, the general category is 15.52 per cent and the Other Backward Caste (OBC) is 27 per cent," Vivek Kumar Singh, Additional Chief Secretary said.
According to the data, Scheduled Castes make up 19.65 per cent and the Scheduled Tribes 1.68 per cent of the population of the state.
The data also said that the Hindus comprise 81.99 per cent of the population, Muslims 17.7 per cent, Christians 0.05 per cent, Sikhs 0.01 per cent, Buddhists 0.08 per cent and other religions 0.12 per cent.
The data said that Yadavs, the OBC group to which Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav belongs, is the largest and accounts for 14.27 per cent of the state’s population.
Kushwaha and Kurmi communities form 4.27 per cent and 2.87 per cent of the population, the caste survey said.
Bhumihars constitute 2.86 per cent of the population, Brahmins 3.66 per cent, Kurmis 2.87 per cent, and Musahars 3 per cent.
The total population of Bihar is more than 13 crore. (ANI)