Uddhav Thackeray-led delegation to meet Amit Shah to demand caste-based census in Maharashtra: Ajit Pawar

Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Friday said a delegation led by Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray would meet Union Home Minister Amit Shah to demand caste-based census to calculate the exact population of Other Backward Classes (OBC) to ensure effective welfare schemes for underprivileged communities.

"An all-party delegation of Maharashtra led by Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray will meet Union Home Minister Amit Shah to demand caste-based census to calculate OBC population for better and effective planning of welfare schemes for them," said Pawar in the Assembly.

Maharashtra has become the third state after Odisha and Bihar to back a caste-based census.

The Maharashtra Assembly has demanded a caste-based census of OBCs to ensure fair allotment of quotas in government jobs and educational institutions for underprivileged communities.

Speaking in the Assembly, several Maharashtra ministers said the state government should take initiative for caste-based census if the Centre was not willing to accept the demand for the same.

On February 18, the Odisha Assembly passed the Odisha State Backward Classes (Amendment) Bill. The move will enable the state's Backward Class Commission to conduct a survey for identifying socially and economically backward classes on the basis of socio-educational status.