New Delhi: Against the backdrop of demand for inclusion of caste data in the on-going Census, the Union Cabinet Tuesday discussed the issue at length but there was no consensus.
The cabinet meeting, chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, took up the issue to ascertain views of its members ahead of a discussion expected in Parliament on Wednesday.
The issue, which was included in the cabinet agenda an hour before the meeting, saw many ministers favouring inclusion of caste data in the census, sources said.
However, there was a feeling against carrying out the exercise at this stage as the enumeration of the population has already begun since April 1. Sources said another opinion voiced in the meeting was that census is not the "right mechanism" for determining the caste data.
The discussion was inconclusive and it was decided that the matter would be debated in the next Cabinet meeting as well. Leaders, mostly from Other Backward Castes, cutting across party lines have demanded that caste be included in the census exercise.
A discussion on the issue is scheduled for Wednesday in Parliament. The last census in which caste data was collected, was in 1931. Even Law Minister M Veerappa Moily has agreed to include caste in census.
Opposition parties, including BJP, SP, RJD, JD(U) and CPI, have been demanding that since reservation and other benefits were given to people on the basis of caste, government should include it in the census data being collected across the country.
Raising the issue in Lok Sabha, leader of the Opposition Sushma Swaraj had said government should agree to a debate on allowing caste-based census to resolve the issue.
Among the several ministers who participated in Tuesday's Cabinet discussion on caste census were Pranab Mukherjee, P Chidambaram, M Veerappa Moily, A Raja, Anand Sharma and Farooq Abdullah who articulated pros and cons of the issue, sources said.
Urban Housing Development Minister S Jaipal Reddy and Textile Minister Dayanidhi Maran also took part in the discussions. The census operation comes under the Ministry of Home Affairs.
Caste system won't divide us: Moily
Union Law Minister Veerappa Moily says, caste census will not lead to divisions since caste system has existed for long. Before we give benefit to people, we need to find out who are the people who should benefit.
"Caste system has been here for ages. It's been there. It's not true that census leads to division. Caste system has remained even where there was no enumeration," said Moily.
BJP, Paswan too for caste census
BJP MP and Dy Leader of Opposition SS Ahluwalia says his party supports caste-based census. "Reservations are being given on the basis of the 1931 census. The SC and the Mandal Commission are handicapped due to lack of such data. We need data for such things," said Ahluwalia.
LJP chief Ram Vilas Paswan made a strong pitch for caste census as demanded by RJD and JD (U), saying it is necessary to arrive at the exact population of various castes in the country.
"First caste census was carried out in 1931. A long period has passed since then. Ignoring the issue won't do as caste is a reality in Indian system. Even ticket distribution by political parties is done on the basis of caste.
"Moreover, there have been attempts to divide Dalits in the name of Mahadalits in Bihar. Hence, it needs to be known the exact population of different caste groups," Paswan said.
His alliance partner in Bihar Lalu Prasad-led RJD as well as their principal opponent the JD-U have already said they are in favour of caste census.
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