OP Rajbhar asks Bihar govt to conduct caste census in next 6 months

Chief of Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party and a prominent leader in Uttar Pradesh, Om Prakash Rajbhar, asked the newly formed government in Bihar to conduct a caste-wise census in the state.

“Rashtriya Janata Dal and JD(U) have formed the government. Till yesterday, RJD, JD(U), Congress and the left would say that BJP is an obstacle and isn’t allowing caste census. I would like to say to the deputy chief minister Tejashwi Yadav and chief minister Nitish Kumar that you are now independent, you should conduct caste census within the next six months and prove that you want Dalits, OBCs and minorities to get their representation and share,” Rajbhar said in a video posted on his Twitter account on Thursday, August 11.

After the Janata Dal (United) broke its alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party, Kumar once again took oath as chief minister of Bihar on Wednesday after joining hands with the Rashtriya Janata Dal. Both the JD(U) and RJD are led by Bahujan leaders and claim to be socially progressive and interested in the welfare of the lower castes.

“In the previous government too, Nitish Kumar would talk about conducting caste census and say BJP is obstructing the move. Now the BJP is out of the way. Your current partners — RJD, Congress and the left — they also have spoken in favour of the caste census,” Rajbhar stated.

Rajbhar also said that his own Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party wants caste census to be conducted in the whole of the country.

Rajbhar, who represents the Zahoorabad constituency, was a minister in the Yogi Adityanath government from 2017 to 2019. In the 2022 Uttar Pradesh elections, he joined hands with the Samajwadi Party. His party won six seats in the elections.