Caste Census: Tejashwi Yadav urges PM Modi to review reservation policies

RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi urging him for a "comprehensive review of the social protection and reservation policies" once the exercise to include caste enumeration in the upcoming census is completed.

Yadav, the Leader of the Opposition in the Bihar assembly, shared the letter on X on Saturday. It was written on Friday.

"Conducting the caste census is merely the first step of the long journey towards social justice. The census data must lead to a comprehensive review of social protection and reservation policies. The arbitrary cap on reservations will also have to be reconsidered," the letter said.

The upcoming delimitation exercise should reflect the social realities uncovered by the census, ensuring proportional political representation for marginalised groups, it read.

"The redrawing of constituencies should be sensitive to and reflective of the census data," Yadav wrote to the PM.

Special provisions must be there for adequate political representation of OBCs and EBCs, who have been systematically excluded from decision-making forums.

"Hence, they will need to be expanded based on the proportional representation principle in state assemblies and the parliament of India," his letter read.

He also mentioned the decision to conduct the caste census can be a transformative moment in our nation's journey towards equality.

The millions who have struggled for this census await not just data but dignity, not just enumeration but empowerment.

"The private sector, which has been a major beneficiary of public resources, cannot remain insulated from social justice imperatives," Yadav wrote.

Companies have received substantial benefits, including land at concessional rates, power subsidies, tax exemptions, infrastructure support, and various financial incentives funded by taxpayer money. In return, it is entirely reasonable to expect them to reflect the social composition of our country, he wrote.

"Will the data be used as a catalyst for systemic reforms, or will it be confined to dusty archives like many previous commission reports?" the RJD leader asked.

"Prime Minister, your government now stands at a historic crossroads," he said.

Assuring the PM of Bihar's cooperation Yadav wrote, as Bihar's representative, where the caste survey opened many eyes to ground realities, "I assure you of constructive cooperation in utilising the census findings for genuine social transformation."  The millions who have struggled for this census await not just data but dignity, not just enumeration but empowerment, he said in the letter.

"I write to you with a sense of cautious optimism," he wrote, adding that for years, "your government and the NDA alliance government dismissed calls for a caste census as divisive and unnecessary".

When Bihar took the initiative to conduct its caste survey, central authorities, including the top law officer of the government and your party created obstacles at every step.

Your belated decision represents an acknowledgement of the groundswell of demands from the citizens who have long been relegated to the margins of our society, Yadav's letter said.

Referring to the Bihar caste survey, which revealed that OBCs and EBCs constitute around 63 per cent of the state's population, Yadav said similar data at the national level could shatter many myths perpetuated to maintain the status quo.