Sushil Modi demands ‘automatic inclusion’ of Mahadalits in BPL

A file picture of Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Modi at a meeting in New Delhi. Photo: Rajeev Bhatt.

Bihar Deputy Chief Minister S K Modi today demanded that the Centre ensure ‘automatic inclusion’ of Mahadalits in the nation-wide survey of BPL families.

“Most Mahadalit families are homeless as well as landless and should be automatically included in the BPL list,” Mr. Modi said in the press statement.

Mr. Modi suggested that the Centre should set up a BPL commission on the lines of the Election Commission to ensure a correct and foolproof list of BPL families in the country.

Alleging that the Centre was ‘insensitive’ towards Mahadalits, Mr. Modi said an impression was initially created that Mahadalits too would qualify for automatic inclusion in the BPL lists together with the homeless tribals and bonded labourers.

He informed that the Tendulkar Commission formed by the Centre had accepted that 57 per cent of the families were BPL families, while the N C Saxena committee estimated that 75 per cent of families belonged to below poverty line in Bihar.

The State government conducted a survey on the basis of the fixed guidelines and identified 1.5 crore BPL families in Bihar, he said.

The capping of the number of BPL families in every State by the Centre and Planning Commission in the light of recommendations of the Tendulkar Commission was unjustified, Mr. Modi said.