Caste-based census is not just for Bihar, the whole country will benefit, Nitish Kumar said.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar would be visiting Delhi today to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi to push for caste-based census. He would be leading a 10-member delegation, which would include the BJP, which had not been keen on such a census.
"Some people have reached Delhi already and some will go with me. Tomorrow we will meet at 11," he said, speaking to reporters on the occasion of rakhi.
Asked if the matter will be resolved on Monday, he said "We will see".
"It is a crucial issue and we have been seeking this for long. It if works out, that nothing could be better than that. Moreover, it would be not just for Bihar, people in the whole country will benefit from this. It should be done at least once. We will put forward our views from this angle," he said.
Mr Kumar had earlier repeatedly said that a caste-based census s in everyone's interest and concern that such a census will upset a group of people is baseless.
"It is up to the Centre to do a caste census or not... our job is to put forth our views. Do not think that one caste will like and another will not... It is in everyone's interest," he had told reporters.
Not just Mr Kumar, several Bihar leaders, cutting across party lines, have demanded a caste-based census, which has not happened in India since the British period.
But after Independence it was dropped and was replaced with census of Scheduled Castes and Tribes as leaders like BR Ambedkar said it could cause divisions in society.
The BJP has also not been keen on the issue but Mr Kumar had pointed out that they did not object when the state assembly passed a resolution in favour of caste-based census.