PATNA: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has reiterated his demand for a census on the basis of caste and reservation for the backward. HAM, part of the ruling NDA alliance in Bihar, has called for reservations in the public and private sectors as well as the judiciary.
Speaking to the media after interacting with a select group of 100 party workers on Wednesday, Kumar said: “Only through a caste-wise census can we know how many people belong to which caste. Making policies for them will become easier if this is done. We have been making this demand for a long time. This used to happen in the past, but stopped after Independence.”
He claimed that for the caste-wise census, a unanimous resolution was passed by the Bihar Assembly and Legislative Council and sent to the Central government earlier.Asked about the ideal policy for reservation, Kumar said: “I don’t know what the discussion is over reservation, but the provision will remain the same. In Bihar, Karpoori Thakur’s formula has been implemented.”
Taking to Twitter, HAM chief Jitan Ram Manjhi said that reservation should remain until everyone gets equal status in the society. “We believe as well as demand that there should be reservation in private sectors as well as in the judiciary.”