ওয়াশিংটন বাংলা রেডিও Washington Bangla Radio USA

New Delhi, Aug 31 (IBNS): The government on Tuesday said that it has decided to include caste details in the ongoing census and the Union Cabinet is expected to complete the formality of giving its final approval in its next meeting.
 
 “The government has more or less decided (to include caste in census),” Finance minister Pranab Mukherjee said in the Lok Sabha as several parties demanded to know the fate of the caste-based census on the last day of the Monsoon session of the Parliament.
 
 Leaders of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Janata Dal (United), Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and Samajwadi Party (SP) raised the issue in the House, asking the government on the current status on its assurance on inclusion of caste in the enumeration process.
 
 JD(U) chief Sharad Yadav pointed that the government had sought the views of the political parties on caste census in writing and though most of the parties responded positively, there was no decision from the government.
 
 He was supported by SP leader Mulayam Singh Yadav, BJP Deputy Leader Gopinath Munde and Dara Singh Chauhan (BSP).
 
 Mukherjee said the the Group of Ministers (GoM), which examined the issue, has decided that caste census should be carried out during house enumeration exercise.
 
 But as the GoM was not an empowered body, its deicison will have to be endorsed by the Cabinet, he said.
 
 “It is now a matter of formality,” he added.
 
 The Union minister said the house enumeration will be limited to collection of information with regard to caste and biometric exercise will go on simultaneously.