<p>Chennai: Terming the BJP-led Union government’s decision to include caste enumeration in the decadal census as "another triumph" for DMK and I.N.D.I.A. bloc, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin on Wednesday said key questions like when will the exercise begin and conclude remain unanswered. </p><p>Stalin, the DMK President, sought to know whether the BJP government came around and agreed to conduct a caste census after dismissing the demands as attempts to divide people on caste lines only because of the ensuing assembly polls in Bihar, where the social justice agenda is “dominating” the election narrative. </p>.Explained | What is a Caste Census? Its history, politics, and significance today.<p>Contending that caste census is essential, not optional, for objective policy-making, targeted welfare, and the pursuit of real social justice, Stalin said governments cannot remedy injustice without first recognising its scale. He also recalled that Tamil Nadu was the first state to pass a resolution in the Assembly demanding that the Union government conduct a caste census along with the decadal census, which has been delayed by at least five years. </p><p>“After the failure of all its attempts to deny and delay the much-needed caste enumeration, the BJP government has finally announced that it will be conducted along with the forthcoming census. But key questions remain unanswered —when will the census begin? When will it conclude? The timing is no coincidence,” Stalin said in a statement. </p><p>He said the “sudden move” reeks of political expediency with just a few months to go for the Bihar assembly elections which is expected to be a tight fight between the NDA and I.N.D.I.A. bloc. “The same Prime Minister who once accused opposition parties of dividing people on caste has now yielded to the very demand, which he maligned repeatedly,” he said. </p>.Political war over caste census: BJP, Congress set to fight to take credit for nationwide exercise.<p>For the Tamil Nadu government and DMK, this is a "hard-earned victory", Stalin said and added that while others called for state-level caste surveys, he stood firm that census was a Union subject and only the Union government can and should deliver a legally binding caste enumeration under the Census Act. </p><p>“Our stand is now vindicated. Another triumph for DMK and I.N.D.I.A. bloc in our arduous social justice journey, driven by the ideals of the Dravidian model,” Stalin said. </p><p>He also said the DMK and his government championed the cause in every forum by reiterating the demand in every meeting with the Prime Minister and through multiple letters, consistently urging the Union government to take responsibility.</p>
<p>Chennai: Terming the BJP-led Union government’s decision to include caste enumeration in the decadal census as "another triumph" for DMK and I.N.D.I.A. bloc, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin on Wednesday said key questions like when will the exercise begin and conclude remain unanswered. </p><p>Stalin, the DMK President, sought to know whether the BJP government came around and agreed to conduct a caste census after dismissing the demands as attempts to divide people on caste lines only because of the ensuing assembly polls in Bihar, where the social justice agenda is “dominating” the election narrative. </p>.Explained | What is a Caste Census? Its history, politics, and significance today.<p>Contending that caste census is essential, not optional, for objective policy-making, targeted welfare, and the pursuit of real social justice, Stalin said governments cannot remedy injustice without first recognising its scale. He also recalled that Tamil Nadu was the first state to pass a resolution in the Assembly demanding that the Union government conduct a caste census along with the decadal census, which has been delayed by at least five years. </p><p>“After the failure of all its attempts to deny and delay the much-needed caste enumeration, the BJP government has finally announced that it will be conducted along with the forthcoming census. But key questions remain unanswered —when will the census begin? When will it conclude? The timing is no coincidence,” Stalin said in a statement. </p><p>He said the “sudden move” reeks of political expediency with just a few months to go for the Bihar assembly elections which is expected to be a tight fight between the NDA and I.N.D.I.A. bloc. “The same Prime Minister who once accused opposition parties of dividing people on caste has now yielded to the very demand, which he maligned repeatedly,” he said. </p>.Political war over caste census: BJP, Congress set to fight to take credit for nationwide exercise.<p>For the Tamil Nadu government and DMK, this is a "hard-earned victory", Stalin said and added that while others called for state-level caste surveys, he stood firm that census was a Union subject and only the Union government can and should deliver a legally binding caste enumeration under the Census Act. </p><p>“Our stand is now vindicated. Another triumph for DMK and I.N.D.I.A. bloc in our arduous social justice journey, driven by the ideals of the Dravidian model,” Stalin said. </p><p>He also said the DMK and his government championed the cause in every forum by reiterating the demand in every meeting with the Prime Minister and through multiple letters, consistently urging the Union government to take responsibility.</p>