National Commission for Backward Classes (NCBC) chairperson Hansraj Gangaram Ahir on Saturday said the Centre’s “well-thought-out” caste census decision was arrived at after much deliberations, and it would bring clarity in framing welfare schemes.
Extolling the Narendra Modi government and expressing confidence that the dispensation would conduct the complex exercise with integrity, he said it was a “long-awaited step” towards fulfilling people’s aspirations for social justice.
“This is what people wanted and the government has heard them,” the rights body chief told reporters while emphasising that the decision was aligned with a broader “long-term plan for social justice”. In a major policy shift, the government has announced that the next decadal census will include caste enumeration for the first time since Independence.
Cutting across party lines, several leaders welcomed the move and called for early steps to conduct the exercise, which is expected to reshape the country’s socio-economic and political landscape.
“The caste census decision was a well-thought-out and arrived at after much deliberations. Had it been a political move, it would have been brought before the election,” Ahir said.
It marks a significant milestone for OBC welfare and will help bring
“clarity” while designing schemes for their benefit.
The NCBC chairperson Hansraj Gangaram Ahir took potshots at the previous government’s attempt to collect caste data’ in the 2011 Socio-Economic and Caste Census, claiming the exercise was marred by procedural failures.
The Congress-led UPA government had failed to compile a comprehensive list of castes and used a flawed proforma which rendered the exercise ineffective, Ahir claimed.
With the government’s decision seen by many as a political manoeuvring, several parties have sought to claim bragging rights while terming the announcement amid heightened cross-border tensions triggered by the April 22 Pahalgam massacre a “diversionary tactic” and an attempt at headlines management.
The BJP countered the allegations, saying it has exposed the difference between the Centre’s “true intentions” and the “empty sloganeering” of the opposition parties.