The Rashtriya Janata Dal on Tuesday demanded that the BJP-led government at the Centre make the caste census report public so that “it would be clear which caste has how much population”.
The party also alleged that the “BJP wants to create a rift between the Dalits and backward class people in the country”.
‘Anti-reservation’
“We demand the caste census report be made public as we all should know which caste has how much proportion in country’s population…the BJP wants to create a rift between the Dalits and backward class people as they [BJP] are anti-constitutional and anti-reservation,” alleged RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav.
He asked, “why the SC/ST Act was kept out of the Ninth Schedule of the Constitution?”.
“They [BJP] want to scrap reservation in a very clever way but we and the people of the country are aware about it and we’ll not sit idle but keep raising this issue and give them a befitting reply in the coming elections,” said Mr. Yadav in Patna after a meeting of the party leaders to mull over strategy for the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.
All senior RJD leaders, MPs, MLAs and district presidents were present at the meeting which was organised for the first time after party chief Lalu Prasad was jailed in fodder scam cases.
The Leader of the Opposition in the State Assembly, Tejashwi Yadav, said: “Dalits are being victimised in the BJP-ruled States… whether its Koregaon or those Dalit families whose bridegroom are not allowed to ride horses…those who are sitting in power (BJP) are the most casteist people and creating communal strife in society.”
He also charged that the recent bandh call given by the upper caste groups against amendments in reservation on September 6 was “in fact, sponsored by the BJP and the RSS”. “We know their [BJP] design and we’ll not let them succeed,” he added.
Booth level panels
At the meeting, the RJD leaders discussed about strengthening of the booth-level committees and agendas for the Sangharsh Samiti under senior party leader Raghuvansh Prasad Singh. A three-member committee of senior party leaders -- Shivanand Tiwari, Jagdanand Singh and Mangani Lal Mandal -- was constituted to form the opinion on topical issues.
The meeting was presided over by former Chief Minister and party’s national vice-president Rabri Devi.
