BJP-LED UNION GOVT.'S SUDDEN MOVE TO CONDUCT CASTE CENSUS REEKS OF POLITICAL EXPEDIENCY: T.N. CM STALIN

The Chief Minister said that the caste census was essential, not optional, for objective policy making, targeted welfare, and social justice Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin on Wednesday said the “sudden move” of the BJP-led Union government to conduct caste census “reeks of political expediency” as it had come at a time when discourse on social justice was dominating the Bihar elections.

- AJIKUMAR CHENNAI

“The timing is no coincidence. The same Prime Minister, who had once accused the Opposition parties of dividing people on caste, has now yielded to the very demand he maligned repeatedly,” he said in a post on social media.

The Chief Minister said after “vain attempts” to deny and delay the much-needed caste census, the Union government finally announced that it would be conducted along with the forthcoming general census. “But key questions remain unanswered — when will the Census begin and when it will conclude,” he said.

'Essential, not optional'

The Chief Minister said that the caste census was essential, not optional, for objective policy making, targeted welfare, and social justice. “You cannot remedy injustice without first recognising its scale,” he said.