Caste survey welcome, Sarna code needs clarity: INDIA bloc

1
2
Ranchi:
Jharkhand Mukti Morcha
(JMM) led INDIA bloc on Wednesday welcomed the Centre's decision to include
caste survey
in the next census but said it was concerned with the lack of clarity about the inclusion of a separate religious code for the tribal communities which follow Sarna faith.
JMM, Congress and the RJD also termed the Centre's announcement a moral victory for the opposition parties which had been demanding the survey for months now.
JMM general secretary cum national spokesperson Supriyo Bhattacharya said many primitive tribes in Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, Odisha, West Bengal, Gujarat and the north-eastern states follow ancient religions. "The religions of these communities should also be included in the survey. Otherwise, a caste-based census sans these religions will be a half-baked exercise," he said.
Notably the state assembly, in a special session in November 2020, had passed a resolution demanding inclusion of
Sarna Code
in the national census.
Bhattacharya demanded that factions of Hinduism, Islam and Sikhism must also be included in the survey. "It is our suggestion that the caste survey and census be completed before delimitation as reservation for women (33% in Lok Sabha) also needs to be implemented in 2029," he said.
RJD's state secretary Kailash Yadav said the party had been demanding caste survey for years. Supporting RJD and JMM's stand, state Congress spokesperson Rakesh Sinha said, "When Rahul Gandhi demanded the survey, the BJP neglected it. Better late than never they have realised its importance. It is a welcome move and will ensure also said the exercise will ensure
social justice
for every section of the society."
State BJP president Babulal Marandi also welcomed the move. "Now the focus will be on real social justice, not just vote-bank politics. For decades, the Congress and other opposition parties have used the issue of caste census for electoral gains. But now, a caste-based census has become the need of the hour. The time has come to move away from fragmented, inconsistent, and opaque state-level surveys and adopt a uniform, reliable, and fact-based caste census for the entire nation," he added.

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