Centre took caste census call under oppn pressure: SP MP

Agra: Samajwadi Party (SP) leader and Rajya Sabha MP Ramji Lal Suman on Saturday said that the Centre's decision to include caste enumeration in the upcoming census was taken "under pressure from the opposition", particularly the SP and RJD.
On Wednesday, the Centre announced that the next census will include caste enumeration in a "transparent manner", a key demand of Congress, the INDIA bloc, and several regional parties. The last census was due in 2021 but was delayed due to the Covid pandemic.
"The people of the country, especially SP and RJD, have been demanding for a long time that caste census be conducted. If you talk about social justice, the first step is to identify the caste-wise population. Development plans and national policies should be based on that. After a long time, the Indian govt made this decision, but it did so under pressure. This move is a win for the opposition, especially SP," Suman said.