Jodhpur (Rajasthan) [India], May 3 (ANI): Addressing the issue of the Union Government's recent decision to include caste enumeration in the upcoming population census, Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat said it is necessary to review the country's development and changes post-independence.

Shekhawat added that he welcomes Prime Minister Narendra Modi's decision and stated that the caste census benefits the poor and unprivileged.

'Caste census was necessary to review the development and changes in the country post-independence. This will be for the benefit of the poor and unprivileged and will provide equal opportunities for the backward classes... I welcome this decision by the Prime Minister', he told ANI.

Meanwhile, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) MP Manoj Jha described the caste census as a crucial first step towards ensuring social justice, while advocating for expanding the scope of reservation and greater political representation for backward classes.

Speaking to reporters, Jha said, 'Caste census was being demanded for a long time... As the Leader of Opposition said, this is just the first step. After that, there are many other things, like the scope of reservation should increase, there should be provision of reservation in the private sector, there should be adequate representation of these classes by redistributing the seats in Parliament and State Assembly.'

On Wednesday, the government decided that caste enumeration will be included in the forthcoming census.

Briefing the media about the decisions taken by the Union Cabinet, Information and Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said that some states have done caste surveys and conducting a census is in the domain of the central government.

'Caste was not included in all the census operations conducted since independence. In 2010, the then Prime Minister Manmohan Singhji had assured the Lok Sabha that the matter of caste census would be considered in the cabinet. A group of ministers was formed to consider this subject. Most political parties recommended a caste census. Despite this, the Congress government decided to conduct only a survey of caste instead of a census. That survey is known as SECC,' Vaishnaw said.

The minister said that the Modi government had earlier introduced ten per cent reservation for the Economically Weaker Sections without causing any stress on any section of the society.

Congress has been demanding a caste census, with party leaders repeatedly making the demand in their speeches. (ANI)