The Supreme Court will on Tuesday hear petitions challenging the caste-based enumeration in Bihar. The apex court will hear the petition filed by the non-governmental organization (NGO) ‘Ek Soch Ek Prayas Ki’ against the high court’s decision.
In the petition filed by Akhilesh Kumar, a resident of Bihar’s Nalanda, it was argued that the notification issued by the state government to conduct caste census is against the provisions of the Constitution. According to the provisions of the Constitution, only the central government has the right to conduct the census.
The Bihar government had in October made public the results of its controversial caste-based survey just months ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. The census revealed that the Other Backward Classes (OBCs) comprise 63 per cent of the state’s population.
Also known as the Bihar Jaati Adharit Ganana, the census showed that Scheduled Castes account for over 19 per cent of the 13-crore population, while Scheduled Tribes make up 1.68 per cent. The upper castes, or ‘savarnas’, form 15.52 per cent of state’s population.
Chief minister Nitish Kumar, who faced legal hurdles and opposition from the BJP over the survey, had said that the report would aid in the state government’s initiatives for the development and upliftment of all sections.
(details to follow)
Comments
0 comment