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No time for meet on caste census, Tejashwi says PM Modi insulted CM Nitish
RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav said it was an insult of CM Nitish Kumar if he had not been granted time for over a week by PM Modi to discuss the issue of a caste-based census.
Leader of Opposition in Bihar Assembly and Rashtriya Janata Party (RJD) Tejashwi Prasad Yadav on Friday said it was an insult of chief minister Nitish Kumar if he had not been granted time by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to discuss the issue of a caste-based census. He said Kumar had assured the Opposition parties of seeking a meeting with the PM over the issue and is said to have written to Modi on August 4, but is yet to hear from the latter.
“If he has not been granted time for a week now, somehow it is an insult to the CM,” the RJD leader was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
Earlier in the day, Yadav wrote to Modi and sought an appointment for the elected leaders from Bihar to discuss the contentious issue of the caste-wise census in the state. If the Centre fails to meet the Bihar parties’ demand, Yadav said, “We will be left with no option but to sit on dharna at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi.”
On Thursday, Kumar said he was yet to receive any response to his letter, received by the Prime Minister's Office on August 4, requesting a meeting with Modi to discuss the issue. "The demand of the caste census is not just the demand from Bihar but other states also. Our party MPs had written a letter seeking time to meet the Prime Minister. The opposition parties in Bihar also wanted to meet the Prime Minister with us. We had written a letter to the Prime Minister regarding this," Kumar said.
"The letter was received at PMO on August 4. We have not received any reply from the Prime Minister's office yet. We want a caste-based Census and it is our long-standing demand. A caste-based Census will help all castes to get their exact numbers so that policies can be made accordingly. Caste census is in the interest of all. It is for the benefit of the country. It is the job of the central government to take a decision regarding the caste census. If the Prime Minister gives time, we will definitely discuss the issue. It is not a political issue but a social one," added Kumar.
According to an NDTV report, Yadav said Kumar seemed to have been ignored by the Centre as the PM’s Twitter handle revealed he was meeting several other dignitaries. "When we look at the Prime Minister's Twitter handle, it seems he has time to meet others, but if he is not able to meet Nitish Kumar and a delegation of the entire leadership of Bihar Assembly on such an important issue...Can't say much, but he should have made time by now," he said, even as he wondered why the PM was ignoring the issue. The Bihat assembly has unanimously passed a resolution in favour of a caste-wise census twice in the past.
"Since both (Centre and Bihar) have NDA governments...we, the Opposition leaders of Bihar Assembly, without any bias, went and met the respected Chief Minister in his chambers. We said, ‘you seek some time (with the PM) and we will go and meet him’," Yadav was quoted as saying.
