New Delhi: Chief Minister of Assam Tarun
Gogoi today supported caste-based census in the country saying
caste is "a fact of life".
"There should be a caste-based census. Cast is a fact of
life and it is a reality so there should not be any problem in
conducting the caste-based census," he said after meeting Home
Minister P Chidambaram at his North Block office.
The Centre has constituted a Group of Ministers (GoM)
headed by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee to go into the
ticklish issue of inclusion of caste in census.
Other members of the panel include Mamata Banerjee,
Farooq Abdullah, M Veerappa Moily, S Jaipal Reddy, Sharad
Pawar and Kapil Sibal, government sources said.
The GoM has to take a `political decision` on whether to
include caste in the ongoing census operation, an issue which
had seen differences in the government.
Several political parties, including Samajwadi Party, RJD
and JD(U), have been pressing for inclusion of caste in the
census.
The issue had figured prominently in the just-concluded
Budget Session of Parliament when the Prime Minister had
assured the members that government would take their views
into account before deciding on the matter.
Inclusion of caste in the census was last done in the
country in 1931.
PTI
