The Uttar Pradesh government on Friday rejected the demand of opposition parties for a caste-based census and for adding a caste column in the questionnaire of National Population Register (NPR). 
The opposition demanded that the Assembly pass a resolution demanding caste-based census for ascertaining the share of Other Backward Classes in the population of UP.
“This is beyond the legislative competence and jurisdiction of UP Assembly as the issue as per the Constitution is in the Central list,” said Parliamentary Affairs Minister Suresh Khanna while opposing the demand. 
Rejecting the opposition contention that UP Assembly should follow Bihar which has passed this kind of a resolution, Khanna said, “Bihar Assembly is no supreme court for us. We are not bound by a resolution passed by other state assemblies.”’
Leader of opposition and Samajwadi Party MLA Ram Govind Chaudhary said, “Prime Minister Narendra Modi had promised caste-based census so what prevents the UP government to implement it. Our sole demand is that UP Assembly should pass a resolution for caste-based census for ascertaining the share of OBCs in population of the state and a caste column be added in the NPR.”
Chaudhary said that a caste-based census would project a clear picture of the present population of OBCs and enable the government to provide them reservation in a transparent manner.
Bahujan Samaj Party leader Lalji Verma said, “The OBCs are getting reservation in three tier panchayati institutions and urban local bodies, and hence it was necessary to work out the exact share of OBCs  in the state population.”
Om Prakash Rajbhar of Suheldeo Bhartiya Samaj Party (SBSP) said that the government was ignoring the OBCs and threatened to stage a ‘dharna’ inside the Assembly if the demand for a caste-based census was not fulfilled.
On Wednesday too, Samajwadi Party had forced adjournment of the House for 50 minutes over the same issue during Question Hour.
Meanwhile, in another issue during Zero Hour, BSP member Uma Shanker Singh demanded that the Assembly have its own TV channel like Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha to telecast live proceedings.
“Presently Doordarshan is doing the live telecast of House proceedings but it is only till 3 pm. A big state like UP and its Assembly should have a TV channel of its own,” Singh demanded through a notice which was rejected by the Speaker