New Delhi: The historic caste census completed by the Bihar government – the numbers of which were released a day ago – appears to have drawn a reaction from Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who claimed the opposition was trying to divide India along caste lines at a rally in Madhya Pradesh.
Modi did not refer to the caste census or to Bihar, specifically, at the Gwalior rally.
Times of India has quoted him as having said that opposition is also playing with the “feelings of the poor.”
“Even then they used to play with the feelings of the poor and they are doing it even now. Even then they used to divide the country on the basis of caste and even now they are doing the same,” Modi said.
“Earlier they were guilty of corruption… and today they are even more corrupt,” he added, according to NDTV.
Modi, according to the latter report, also called any attempt at “division on caste lines” a “sin”.
The Modi government has ruled out a caste census as part of the already delayed census, which was last held in 2011.
Bihar’s caste census took place over several months and according to numbers released yesterday, found that the population of Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in Bihar is 27.13% and that of Extremely Backward Classes (EBC) is 36.01%.
Together OBC-EBC groups account for 63% of the state population.
The findings are slated to have major implications in the polls of 2024.