'BJP Never Opposed It But...': HM Amit Shah On Oppn's Caste Census Demand

Shah's remarks came a month after Prime Minister Modi accused the opposition of attempting to "divide the country in the name of caste" after Bihar announced the findings of the caste survey.

In an indication that the BJP is softening its stance on the caste census, Union Home Minister Amit Shah stated on Friday that the party has never opposed the notion, but that a decision will be made after thorough deliberations, news agency ANI reported. Shah's remarks came a month after Prime Minister Narendra Modi accused the opposition of attempting to "divide the country in the name of caste" after Bihar announced the findings of the caste survey, which was supported by all parties in the state, including the BJP's Bihar unit. He has branded any attempt to segregate people along caste lines a "sin."

Addressing the gathering in Chhattisgarh's Raipur on Friday, Shah stated: "We don't do politics of vote. We will take an appropriate decision after having discussions...BJP never opposed it but decisions have to be taken after proper thought."

"We are a national party and we don't do politics of votes on this issue. We will take the appropriate decision after consulting everyone and tell about it. But contesting polls on its basis is not correct," he stated. 

Several other BJP leaders have also spoken out against the caste study, calling its methodology into doubt.

With the exception of the Trinamool Congress, the 28-member opposition Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (I.N.D.I.A) has been speaking out on the matter since July, when the grouping was smaller and had not yet taken its name. Following the Bihar survey, their demand for a caste census gained traction, with former Congress President Rahul Gandhi spearheading the fight. 

Gandhi has often raised the matter, and has vowed that if the Congress is elected, it will undertake a caste census. 

The Congress Working Committee, the party's highest decision-making body, has also unanimously supported the request for a caste census and accused the BJP of "cheating" the country's poor by not sharing data from the 2011 Socio Economic and Caste Census and not conducting a new Census. 

Nitish Kumar, the leader of the Janata Dal (United), who is claimed to have requested a caste census, has also been active on the matter, calling the publication of the Bihar caste survey results a success.