Caste census has overpowered kamandal politics. This is now a national issue: JD(U) national president Rajiv Ranjan Singh

In Bihar, we not only conducted a caste census but also recorded the number of people living in economic depravity, which will be made public in the second phase. Today, several states are demanding a similar census, which has become the agenda for the 2024 elections. The caste census has overpowered kamandal (BJP’s Hindutva) politics.

Harikishan Sharma: Has your party thought about any campaign to make use of these figures?

The Nitish Kumar government has been working on such figures for a long time. In 2006, we enumerated another category of Extremely Backward Classes (EBC), who had no say in governance, and gave them a 20 per cent reservation in panchayati raj and local bodies. Bihar has given 50 per cent reservation to women in panchayati raj institutions. In 2013, Nitish Kumar gave 33 per cent reservation to women in the state’s police force. In 2015, he promised to provide 50 per cent reservation to women in all government jobs. In 2016, he gave 35 per cent reservation to women in state government jobs. Bihar is the only state with 29,000 women in the police force. Nitish Kumar started the JEEViKA project so that rural women could create self-help groups (SHGs). Today, 1.3 crore rural women are connected with JEEViKA. Under the Bihar Mukhyamantri Gram Parivahan Yojana and Mukhyamantri Udyami Yojana, EBCs and Scheduled Castes (SC) are given Rs 5 lakh loan and a Rs 5 lakh grant. Every MLA will be given a copy of the caste census report and we will factor in their suggestions.

Harikishan Sharma: When will the recommendations be enforced?

The state government will present the census report in the winter session of the Vidhan Sabha for debate and discussion.

Harikishan Sharma: Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Telangana and Rajasthan are headed for Assembly elections in a few months. Will your party contest in any of these states on the basis of the caste census figures?

We will have seat-sharing talks with the INDIA alliance and then decide if we need to contest in any of these states. The Congress, which is fighting elections as the primary party in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, has the caste census as its topmost priority. In fact, a few months ago, the Rajasthan government proposed a caste census in the Vidhan Sabha. The Jharkhand government is also planning to do so. The caste census has now become a national issue.

Liz Mathew: Does the JD (U) want Nitish Kumar to be given a leadership position in the INDIA alliance? Is he under pressure from your party to contest in Uttar Pradesh because of the Kurmi vote?

The BJP’s objective is to create confusion in society and conduct a false narrative. Nitish Kumar is neither a prime ministerial candidate, nor has he decided to contest from UP. If we decide to do so, our party and the Samajwadi Party (SP) will have a combined election strategy.

Liz Mathew: The BJP, to counter the caste census report, claims that Nitish Kumar and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Lalu Prasad Yadav have, since 1996, included forward Muslim castes in Purvanchal and Seemanchal areas in the EBC category to increase its proportion. That they have snatched the rights of the poor Muslims and deprived caste groups. Comment.

The BJP’s agenda is to divide society on the basis of religion and they won’t miss any opportunity to do that. Why won’t SC Muslims be included in the SC group or the most deprived among them be included in the EBC group? Just because they are Muslims? Nitish Kumar’s work is about development with justice. Whatever the BJP is saying now is its panic reaction.

Liz Mathew: If you go by the ‘jitni abadi, utna haq’ slogan of the INDIA alliance, the southern  parties will face a loss of electoral seats due to delimitation. How will you manage the fallout?

Why will there be any loss? Several southern states have been supporting the caste census. They have not opposed the delimitation process either. Besides, will the BJP remain in power to even complete the delimitation process? Let the time come, everything will be solved.

Harikishan Sharma: There was talk about Nitish Kumar becoming the convenor of the INDIA alliance. Any progress?

There was no talk, just media speculation. This was not suggested by any party. Such speculation is sponsored by the BJP just like the one about differences within the alliance. Nitish Kumar did not wish to become the convenor of the INDIA alliance. Ever since he left the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in 2022, he has worked to unite the opposition.

Deeptiman Tiwary: Does JD (U) think that the 50 per cent ceiling of reservation needs to be relooked? Also, since Muslims are part of EBCs and OBCs (Other Backward Classes) in your census, will you demand reservation for Muslims in 2024?

We think that after a nationwide caste census, the Constitution should be amended to end the cap of 50 per cent reservation and push affirmative action. In his speech in Parliament in 2003-04, Nitish Kumar had argued for including Muslims in the SC category. He has been consistent with that stand, it’s nothing new. We don’t work like the BJP, which is communal. We respect all religions.

Vandita Mishra: You earlier hinted that Mandal (caste politics) will overpower Kamandal (Hindutva politics). But BJP is already getting votes from the non-dominant OBCs, who can be called EBCs. In Bihar, the BJP has been conducting EBC gatherings before every election. Can you weaponise Mandal today?

We talk of weapons. We don’t use weapons. They use weapons. In 2014, Modi said he was a tea-seller. Do you know the name of the station he used to sell tea at? The Ghanchi caste that Prime Minister Modi belongs to was in no way considered a backward class in Gujarat. It got the OBC status only in 1999 under the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Government.

Harikishan Sharma: If you look at the JD (U)’s performance in the previous three Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha elections, there has been a slide since 2005. As its national president, what are your priorities?

In 2005, we were a big party. The BJP was smaller than us. In 2010, we got 115 seats on our own and could have formed the government if we wanted to. But we were in a coalition with BJP, which got 91 seats. And Nitish Kumar gave it a rightful share. In 2015 too, we got more votes than the BJP in the Assembly elections. In 2020, the BJP stabbed Nitish Kumar in the back, instigated Chirag Paswan’s party against the JD (U) and asked BJP workers to root for Paswan.

Harikishan Sharma: On September 14, INDIA alliance partners were to start talks on seat sharing. However, nothing has materialised yet. Are there any problems?

There’s no problem. The Congress is busy with candidate selection for Assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Telangana. After that, everything will be sorted.

Deeptiman Tiwary: Nitish Kumar was spotted at an event commemorating the birth anniversary of RSS ideologue Deendayal Upadhyaya with deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav. There was speculation about him rejoining the NDA. Is this possible?

This is an imaginary question. The Deendayal Upadhyaya birth anniversary was a national event. He unveiled the statue of the late Arun Jaitley, which was also a national event. He has been affectionate towards former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who was equally fond of him. Nitish Kumar respected Vajpayee, LK Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi. Now the BJP’s culture has changed with party functions concentrated in two people. We are committed to the INDIA alliance and dedicated to toppling the Modi government in the 2024 elections.

Vandita Mishra: A caste census is necessary but if we look at everything through a fixed prism of identity, aren’t you afraid that in the future only a Kurmi leader can talk about Kurmis and only a Nishad leader can talk about Nishads? Are we not dividing the idea of representation into small parts?

If a family has four children and two are weak, wouldn’t you give special attention to them? Only then would they reach the same level as the other two. If you have a 27 per cent reservation under the Mandal Commission, then you also have a creamy layer. There’s a creamy layer provision in reservation for economic weaker sections (EWS). You have to produce your income certificate before you receive the benefits of reservation. Otherwise, you will be classified in the general category.

Harikishan Sharma: Your party and the state government have consistently demanded a special status for Bihar in the Assembly. Is this issue still as popular among people?

There is a public demand for a special status. If anyone wants to set up an industrial unit in Bihar, they have to get raw materials from outside. We don’t have mines or minerals. Our economy is agriculture-based. If we want to move towards industrialisation, then a special status can help us get tax relief which will be attractive enough to industries to set up their plants in Bihar. Today there are so many ethanol manufacturing plants in Bihar that in the next five years, the state can become an ethanol hub.

Deeptiman Tiwary: Nitish Kumar is known for his development politics. But after his first term, people think that politics has overshadowed governance. What are you doing to change perceptions?

In his first term, Nitish Kumar had brought about infrastructure development by building roads, bridges and pipelines. He made sure that people could reach Patna from any corner of the state in six hours. In 2015, he made seven promises, one of which was to electrify each house in Bihar. By October 2018, he had met his target. Today, rural areas get electricity for 22 hours and towns 24 hours. Isn’t this

development? Every house has a piped water connection thanks to the efficiency of the panchayats.

Even the Government of India (GoI) adopted Nitish Kumar’s initiative of electrifying houses in 2017 when Piyush Goyal was the Minister of State for Coal, Power, New and Renewable Energy. Similarly, the GoI adopted Nitish Kumar’s Har Ghar Jal Yojna in 2019. In fact, it wrote to the Bihar government and offered support for the Har Ghar Jal Yojna. But the state government said that it did not need a single rupee from the Centre as the latter would take credit for the entire programme.

Women’s reservation and student credit cards came in 2015. Close to three lakh students are now set to join the Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC) and police personnel are also being appointed. Employment drives are happening constantly. In 2014, the BJP promised to provide two crore jobs every year. Where are the 18 crore jobs today? What happened to the black money they recovered from overseas? What about scamsters like Vijay Mallya, Mehul Choksi and Nirav Modi who fled the country?

Santosh Singh: During the special session of Parliament, RJD MP Manoj Kumar cited Om Prakash Valmiki’s poem Thakur ka Kuan. The JD(U) was not happy, fearing it would incite Rajputs. Do you think this will affect the alliance?

No, nothing will happen. We respect all religions. Ask RJD these questions. Ask us about our work instead.

Deeptiman Tiwary: The INDIA alliance partners are united at the national level but are political rivals at the state level. How will you resolve this enmity considering Nitish Kumar has a huge role to play in the alliance?

There’s no need to solve this. With some issues, you just need to accept the truth and move on. In Kerala, the LDF and UDF are separate and we have to accept this. Neither of them is going to go with the BJP. In Bengal, there are the TMC, Left and Congress, where is the BJP? The BJP had predicted that Nitish Kumar would resign and the BJP would come to power. Similar predictions were made during the Bengal, Himachal Pradesh and Delhi Municipal Corporation elections. The BJP lost Karnataka, it will lose in Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh too.