Ahead of assembly polls, Ashok Gehlot pitches for caste census in Rajasthan

Gehlot also informed that the state government is trying to pitch the SC-ST community's demand for reservations on the basis of population.

Ahead of the assembly elections this year, Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot on Wednesday pitched for a caste census in the state. Addressing a rally, Gehlot said that an additional six percent of reservations will be provided for the most backward classes of the Other Backward Classes (OBC) category - in addition to the existing 21 percent reservation.

Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot (HT File Photo)

"A survey will be conducted by the OBC commission to identify the most backward castes in the OBC category and the commission will submit the report in a time-bound manner. With this, the most backward castes will get more opportunities for education and service in the government sector, Gehlot wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Gehlot also informed that the state government is trying to pitch the SC-ST community's demand for reservations on the basis of population.

“In the 10% reservation of EWS category, the Rajasthan government had removed the condition of immovable property, so that this category could also be sure to get the benefit of reservation completely,” he added.

Caste Census in Bihar

Recently, the Supreme Court refused to stay the Patna High Court's August 1 order giving the go-ahead for a caste survey in Bihar, and deferred the hearing on petitions challenging it to August 14. The bench was hearing a plea that said the “entire exercise of conducting a census by the Bihar government is without authority and legislative competence, and reeks of malafide.”

Earlier after the high court's go-ahead for the caste census, the state government had immediately swung into action and suspended all ongoing training programs for teachers so they can be engaged for early completion of the exercise. The first phase of the exercise was completed on January 21.

While there is an opposition to the caste-based census, Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar has insisted that they are “not conducting a caste census but only collecting information related to people's economic status and their caste so specific steps could be taken by the government to serve them better.”