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A poster congratulating Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad Yadav and party leader Tejashwi Yadav was put up outside the party's state headquarters in Patna on Thursday, following the Centre's announcement to integrate the caste census with the upcoming national census.
The banner on the poster hailed the leadership of both Lalu and Tejashwi, crediting their persistent demand for caste-based census and termed it as a victory. Earlier in the day, Tejashwi Yadav spoke to mediapersons and said, "We hope the census will be done before the delimitation exercise...It is a slap on the faces of those who used to blame us for spreading casteism." "Until we don't get scientific data, we won't be able to bring the backwards classes into the mainstream..Naturally, the people of the BJP will take credit for it. But Modi ji had rejected it many times. Lalu ji fought the actual fight for the caste census," he said. RJD MP Sanjay Yadav has termed the Centre's announcement of a caste census an "ideological and policy victory" for his party. "It had been our long-pending demand, decade-long demand...This anti-Dalit, anti-Backwards Government has not taken this up to date. They have made this decision now," Sanjay Yadav told ANI on Wednesday. "They have decided to get this done in the upcoming Census, but what would you do with this data? What policies will you make? There is an NDA government in Bihar. What decision are you making in the 17 months since we got it done here? Nothing," he added. He demanded seats reserved in the Rajya Sabha and Vidhan Parishad in proportion to the data of the caste census. "We demand that there should be reserved seats in Rajya Sabha and Vidhan Parishad in proportion to the data of the caste census, just like it is in Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha. Our fight has just begun...This is our ideological and policy victory," he said. In Patna, RJD leaders, including Tejashwi Yadav, burst crackers after the Union Cabinet approved the caste census. (ANI)
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