PATNA: The all-party meeting on the caste-based census in Bihar has been rescheduled for June 1. Earlier, it was decided to convene a meeting on the issue on May 27. According to authoritative sources in the chief minister's office, the meeting will be held at Samvad at 4 pm. The leaders of all political parties have been invited to the meeting to share their views on the issue.
Deputy chief minister and BJP leader Tarkishore Prasad said that the BJP would participate in the all-party meet scheduled for June 1. “The BJP leadership will decide the name of the party's representative for the meeting,” he added.
The all-party meeting will be followed by cabinet approval on the proposal to hold a caste-based census in the state from its own resources. The demand for a caste-based census has been pending for a long time. Earlier, the proposal was passed by the state legislature twice.
On Monday chief minister Nitish Kumar had said that a final decision on the date of the all-party meeting would be announced after consultation with leaders of political parties. However, most of the leaders had earlier agreed on May 27.
Sources said the meeting has been rescheduled due to nominations for the Rajya Sabha, which started on Tuesday. The last date of nomination is May 31 and scrutiny of papers will be done on June 1. The leader of the opposition Tejashwi Prasad Yadav had met Nitish and held a closed-door meeting on the issue of a caste-based census in the state.