What are your views on caste census?
I believe that caste census should be conducted in order to know the percentage and numbers of each caste and community. My party (the Republican Party of India) is of the opinion that there is a need for a caste census. As of now, we come to know the numbers for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in our census, but we don’t know the numbers for OBCs and other general castes. I am part of the government and my party supports caste census. At the same time, there are technical difficulties involved in the exercise. Our Constitution has destroyed the caste system. So the technical difficulty is how do we carry out a caste census when we have demolished the caste system.
The Congress and other parties are demanding caste census.
Rahul Gandhi and the Congress were in power for so many years. Why didn’t they conduct a caste census then? I don’t believe that atrocities against dalits will increase if there is a caste census. Atrocities against dalits are happening even today. So my party is of the view that the 2021 census should be done caste-wise.
What are your views on the women’s reservation law?
Dr Baba Saheb Ambedkar was always in favour of reservation and equal rights for women, but his efforts to make a law were torpedoed and hence he resigned from Pandit Nehru’s cabinet. Later on, too, efforts were made to bring the bill, but parties like the Rashtriya Janata Dal and the Samajwadi Party opposed it. Prime Minister Narendra Modi understood the importance of the issue and introduced a bill and it was passed unanimously.
Will there be quota-within-quota under women’s reservation?
In the current legislation, there is a provision for reservation only for the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes―15 per cent for the SCs and seven-and-a-half for the STs. But there is no such provision for OBC communities because, right now, there is no reservation for OBCs in the Lok Sabha and the state assemblies. Once that provision is made, there will be reservations for OBC women.
Why is the BJP-led government at the Centre opposed to a caste census?
It is not that they are opposed to it. As I said, there are technical difficulties. The Law Commission, NITI Aayog, all have to be consulted.