Owaisi calls for immediate commencement of caste-based census

Kolkata, May 2 (IANS) The All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief and Lok Sabha member Asaduddin Owaisi on Friday demanded immediate commencement of caste-based census in the country.

Speaking to reporters outside the Bagdogra Airport on the outskirts of Siliguri town in Darjeeling district of West Bengal, Owaisi also clarified why his party is favouring caste-based census in India.

“The caste-based census should start immediately. I will request the BJP and National Democratic Alliance government to fix deadlines both on when the process will resume and by when it will be completed. The last caste-based census was conducted in 1931. The census will reveal who is getting what benefit and who is not. It will also reveal who owns residence or land and who does not. It will be clear which community has progressed and which has not. The caste-based census is necessary for knowing all these things,” Owaisi said.

He arrived at Bagdogra Airport from Delhi and then left for Bihar by road.

At the airport, he interacted with the mediapersons before leaving for Bihar and there he clearly expressed his views on caste-based census.

He also said that because of the caste-based census, a clear picture of the condition of Muslims 'coming from outside' will also evolve. “Countries like the USA have grown stronger because of such initiatives and hence this is also important for India,” Owaisi said.

Speaking on the occasion, he also vehemently condemned the ghastly killing of several tourists at Pahalgam in Jammu and Kashmir last month and said that the selective killing of tourists after identifying them as Hindus was a heinous crime.

He also said that his party will fully back the Union government’s initiatives against Pakistan and the terror groups as a counter-reaction to such ghastly killings.

“We heard that terrorists from Pakistan were involved in the ghastly killing. First, they isolated the women and children. Thereafter, they asked the male tourists about their religion and these tourists were selectively killed. This is the most heinous crime. So we will be backing any initiative of the Union government against Pakistan who are backing these terror groups,” Owaisi said.

However, he said that his party will continue with its opposition against the Waqf (Amendment) Act. “This is a wrong initiative and unconstitutional and so we are against it. However, at the same time I will also say that my party does not endorse violence over protests against this act,” Owaisi said.

His clear indication was towards the recent communal violence and riot-like situation in Murshidabad district of West Bengal last month as protests over the Waqf (Amendment) Act turned violent there.

--IANS

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