"Drama being staged by CM Nitish Kumar...": Bihar BJP chief Choudhary on caste census

Patna (Bihar) [India], October 6 (ANI): Reacting to the newly released caste census in the state, Bihar BJP President Samrat Choudhary on Friday said that Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is staging a drama for the appeasement of certain sections in the society.
Speaking to ANI, Samrat Choudhary said, "You will not find a single caste in Bihar that will say that a correct survey has happened. This drama is being staged by Bihar CM Nitish Kumar for appeasement."
On Bihar caste census, BJP leader Sushil Modi said, "If the Supreme Court has issued a notice, the Bihar government will give an answer to it. But when the decision of caste survey was taken, all the parties agreed on it and this decision was taken during the time of our party's government. In the data that has been released now, except for 2-3 castes, everyone feels cheated and is angry. It seems the data has been tampered with."
Meanwhile Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra asserted if the Congress is re-elected to power in Chhattisgarh, a caste census will be conducted in the state, similar to the one carried out in Bihar.

"I announce that if Congress repeats government in Chhattisgarh, then like Bihar, we will also hold caste census in the state," Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said at a public event in poll-bound Chhattisgarh's Kanker.

The report of the caste-based survey conducted in Bihar was released on Monday by the Nitish Kumar-led Mahagathbandhan government. The Congress is an ally of the government in Bihar.
Earlier today Supreme Court issued notice to the Bihar government on the plea challenging a caste-based survey in the state and refused to stay anything arising out of the publication of the data of the caste census.

The court said that it cannot stop the state government or any government from taking a decision as that would be wrong. The court, however, said it would consider any issue with regard to data of caste-based survey and examine the issue regarding the power of the state govt to conduct such exercises.

The Patna High Court had previously dismissed similar pleas contesting the caste-based survey ordered by the Nitish Kumar administration.

The report of the caste-based survey conducted in Bihar revealed that 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.

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. (ANI)