Jaipur:

The Rajasthan government on Saturday issued an order to conduct a caste survey in the state.

The order came just days after Bihar released the findings of its caste survey and ahead of the assembly polls in Rajasthan due later this year.

Rajasthan, ruled by the Congress, will be the second state in the country to conduct such a population count.

The order was issued by the Department of Social Justice and Empowerment after the state cabinet’s nod.

According to the order, the Rajasthan government will conduct the survey with its own resources for collecting information and figures related to social, economic and educational level of all its citizens.

The Department of Planning (Economic and Statistics) has been made the nodal department for the work.

However, the order does not provide a time frame for the conduct of the population count.

Earlier in the day, Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot told reporters that an order would be issued in this regard.

On October 2, the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, the Nitish Kumar government in Bihar released the findings of its much-awaited caste survey, which revealed that Other Backward Classes (OBCs) and Extremely Backward Classes (EBCs) constituted a whopping 63 per cent of the state’s total population.

A nationwide caste census is a key agenda of the opposition INDIA bloc, which believes it will help the alliance in the forthcoming elections in the Hindi heartland where caste politics plays a major part.

The Congress is a part of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) bloc as well as the ruling coalition in Bihar.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Jaipur:

With assembly elections approaching, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot announced the state will conduct a caste survey on the lines of the one done in Bihar.

The issue was discussed on Friday at a core committee meeting of the Rajasthan Pradesh Congress Committee (RPCC) held at the party’s war room in Jaipur.

Apart from Ashok Gehlot, the meeting was attended by Congress in-charge for Rajasthan Sukhjinder Randhawa, RPCC president Govind Singh Dotasra and other leaders.

“The Rajasthan government will also conduct a caste survey like the one held in Bihar,” Mr Gehlot told reporters on Friday after the meeting.

He said Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s concept of caste survey and participation in proportion to the population would be furthered in the state.

“Therefore, we have decided that keeping in mind the mandate of the party, the Rajasthan government should declare this campaign,” he said.

“There are various castes within the country.. People of various religions live here. Different castes do different jobs. If we know how much population of which caste is there, we can know what plans we have to make for them. It will be easier for us to prepare schemes caste-wise,” he said.

Randhawa said discussions on yatra on Eastern Rajasthan Canal Project (ERCP) issue were also held in the meeting, apart from the caste-based survey.

Earlier, the Congress had planned to take out a five-day yatra in eastern Rajasthan to demand national project status for the ERCP that would address the irrigation and drinking water needs of 13 districts.

However, the party postponed it.

Rajasthan Congress president Dotasra on Friday said a crucial meeting will be held on Monday in which dates of the yatra on the ERCP issue will be decided.

The slogan of the Congress’ election campaign will be – ‘Kaam Kiya Dil Se, Congress Fir Se’, he added.

The 2023 Rajasthan Legislative Assembly election is expected to be held in or before December this year.
 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)