Clamour for caste survey grows in states
Even as the Prime Minister Modi accused the Opposition of playing with the “emotions of the poor and divided the country on caste lines” clamour is gaining ground in states to release caste surveys of the OBCs.
But the Congress is unruffled and moving fast to grab the opportunity and directed state leaders to act fast on the issue before the notification of elections is issued by the Commission.
The Odisha government headed by Naveen Patnaik has declared to release the findings of the Caste-Census. Though unofficially figures are already out. There is extreme pressure on the Karnataka government to release the Caste survey report conducted during the first stint of the Siddaramaiah tenure in 2013-2018.
In Madhya Pradesh, state Congress chief Kamal Nath said that his party will conduct a caste survey if it came to power. It was the Kamal Nath government which increased the OBC reservation quota from 14% to 27% in 2019. In Chhattisgarh, a similar survey of the Other Backward Classes (OBCs) and Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) is being conducted.
The Maharashtra State Backward Class Commission (MSBCC) has started the process for a socio-economic and caste census in Maharashtra. The state assembly has approved a resolution in this regard.
The Kerala government has asked the State Commission for Economically Backward Classes to conduct a survey to find out the economic backwardness of the forward castes.
In Tamil Nadu, the reservation had touched 69% which includes OBCs far above the 50% limit set by the Supreme Court. Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, an OBC has supported a caste survey saying higher representation to OBCs as per their population in jobs and education. In Uttar Pradesh, there is silence in the ruling BJP but key allies including Union Minister Anupriya Patel have already supported the demand of Caste Survey in the state.
