BJP, AIMIM flag concern over anomalies in Bihar caste survey report

Opposition political parties in Bihar on Tuesday flagged concern over “anomalies and missing details” in the much talked about caste survey report at an all-party meeting chaired by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar here.

Constituents of the ruling Mahagathbandhan (grand alliance) hailed Kumar on the completion of the mammoth exercise by his government, while the opposition BJP insisted that sections of the society which may have disagreements with the findings should be given an opportunity for a hearing.

The meeting was attended by representatives of nine political parties, which have members in the assembly.

The Bihar government on Monday released the data of the caste-based survey. As per the caste survey report, among the total population size of 13,07,25,310, Bihar has 63 per cent of people in the Other Backward Class (OBC) and Extremely Backward Classes (EBC) category.

The survey data has found that Scheduled Caste (SC) constitute over 19 per cent of the state’s population, while 1 per cent of people are falling under Scheduled Tribes (ST).

Leader of the Opposition in Bihar assembly, Vijay Kumar Sinha, said, “It appears that the exercise was conducted in a hurry as the report is full of anomalies. Besides, there is no mention of the economic condition of castes.” The state government must explain whether the exercise was caste caste-based survey or a caste-based census, said the BJP leader who attended the meeting.

“What will happen to those who were left behind by the enumerators? The government must invite opinions and suggestions from the public before final compilation of all data,” Sinha said.

Talking to reporters after the meeting, Akhtarul Iman of the AIMIM claimed that the report is incomplete and a lot needs to be done to make it error-free.

“Muslim population in the Seemanchal region of the state has not been counted properly. Besides, we demand that the government formulate policies for the betterment of economically and socially weaker sections of the society and especially for the Muslim population,” Iman said.

Finance Minister and senior JD(U) leader Vijay Kumar Choudhary, however, described the meeting as successful.

“Representatives of all parties appreciated the effort of the state government in bringing out the caste survey report. Officials concerned are now compiling other details of the report, especially the economic condition of all castes, which will be out soon,” Choudhary told PTI.

Officials gave a presentation on the processes involved in the collection of data at the meeting. This was followed by a discussion on the aspects of the caste survey report, he said.

Representatives of the JD(U), RJD, BJP, Congress, CPI(ML) Liberation, CPI(M), CPI, Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) and All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) attended the meeting.