..तो जनगणना के काम में हो सकती है देरी

नई दिल्ली. जातिगत जनगणना के मसले पर फैसला लेने में केंद्र सरकार की देरी मौजूदा प्रक्रिया को और लंबा खींच सकती है। उस स्थिति में रजिस्ट्रार जनरल ऑफ इंडिया को दोबारा मशक्कत करनी पड़ेगी।

फिलहाल, केंद्रीय गृह मंत्रालय की ओर से इस बारे में कोई दिशा-निर्देश न मिलने पर रजिस्ट्रार जनरल ऑफ इंडिया ने मौजूदा प्रक्रिया को ही आगे बढ़ाने का फैसला किया है। सूत्रों के मुताबिक, अगर केंद्र जनगणना में जाति को भी जोड़ने का फैसला करता है तो वह उन लोगों से जाति कैसे पूछेगा, जिनसे विवरण पहले ही लिए जा चुके होंगे। इसके अलावा जाति पूछने के लिए नए फार्म की जरूरत होगी, जिसमें जाति संबंधी कॉलम हो। फार्म छपवाने और उसे सभी संबंधित कार्यालयों तक पहुंचाने में भी समय लगेगा।

जातिगत जनगणना पर सरकार पीछे हटी तो आंदोलन: मुलायम

लखनऊ। सपा प्रमुख मुलायम सिंह यादव ने केंद्र सरकार पर जातिगत जनगणना मुद्दे को टालने का आरोप लगाते हुए कहा कि सरकार अगर संसद में दिए अपने आश्वासन से पीछे हटी तो सपा आंदोलन करेगी। लखनऊ स्थित पार्टी मुख्यालय में शुक्रवार को मुलायम सिंह यादव ने कहा कि प्रधानमंत्री मनमोहन सिंह ने पिछले दिनों संसद में जातिगत जनगणना करवाने का आश्वासन दिया था, लेकिन घोषणा करने के बाद सरकार अब इससे पीछे हट रही है।
सपा अध्यक्ष ने कहा कि देश में जाति आधारित जनगणना के मामले को मंत्रियों के उच्चााधिकार प्राप्त समूह (जीओएम) को सौंपना इस मुद्दे को टालने का एक बहाना है। उन्होंने सरकार को चेतावनी देते हुए कहा कि अगर जीओएम ने जातिगत जनगणना के खिलाफ रिपोर्ट दी तो सपा देश की सभी वंचित जातियों को साथ लेकर आंदोलन करने से पीछे नहीं हटेगी। यादव ने जोर देते हुए कहा कि एक तरफ देश में पे़ड-पौधे, तालाब, मकान व जानवरों तक की गिनती हो रही है तो जातिगत जनगणना के नाम पर कुछ लोगों को तकलीफ क्यों हो रही है।

उन्होंने कहा कि जातिगत जनगणना कराने से देश के सरकारी खजाने पर एक पैसे का भी अतिरिक्त भार नहीं प़डेगा। केवल फार्म में एक कालम बढ़ाना होगा। यादव ने उन खबरों को निराधार बताया, जिसमें सपा के केंद्र सरकार में शामिल होने की अटकलें लगाई गई थीं।

जातीय जनगणना के विरुद्ध माकन के पत्र से कांग्रेस क्षुब्ध

कांग्रेस ने शुक्रवार को केंद्रीय गृह राज्यमंत्री अजय माकन के उस पत्र पर नाखुशी जताई है, जिसमें उन्होंने युवा सांसदों से जनगणना में जाति को शामिल करने का विरोध करने की अपील की है।

पार्टी महासचिव जनार्दन द्विवेदी जो पार्टी का मीडिया प्रभाग भी देख रहे हैं, ने कहा कि इस संबंध में उचित बयान देने के लिए सरकार में कोई व्यक्ति अधिकृत नहीं है।द्विवेदी ने कहा कि यह माकन का 'निजी विचार' है। उन्होंने कहा कि माकन को ऐसा पत्र लिखने से अभी बचना चाहिए था, क्योंकि इस मुद्दे पर वित्तमंत्री प्रणब मुखर्जी की अध्यक्षता वाले मंत्रियों का समूह विचार कर रहा है।

गुरुवार को लिखे अपने पत्र में माकन ने कहा है कि जातिगत जनगणना एक राजनीतिक मुद्दा है, जिसका बुरा नतीजा अगले दशकों में भुगतना पड़ सकता है। उन्होंने कहा कि मुझे व अन्य राजनीति के पेशेवरों एवं सभी राजनीतिक दलों को इसके बदले विकास का मुद्दा उठाना चाहिए। उन्होंने यह पत्र ब्लॉग 'अजय माकन थाउट्स डॉट ब्लॉग स्पॉट डॉट कॉम' पर जारी किया है।

Caste census: Maken writes to MPs

At a time when the Cabinet has referred the issue of caste census to a Group of Ministers (GoM), Congress MP Ajay Maken has now written to about 70-odd young MPs across party lines asking for an all-inclusive agenda on the issue.

In his letter to young MPs, Maken said, "Caste census will institutionalise caste rather than development as the national political agenda change."Maken has hinted in the letter that the caste census is divisive."Regression into realm of caste being the political agenda will be detrimental to the country change," he writes.

The GoM is likely to be headed by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee. The GoM panel has no time frame, but importantly, its decision will go back to the Cabinet.Several political parties have made a pitch for conducting a caste-based census, prominent among them the Yadav troika of Mulayam, Lalu and Sharad.Their parties - the Samajwadi Party, RJD and JD(U) - have been strongly demanding the inclusion of caste in the census exercise.Those opposed to a caste-based census say that it is a throwback to the medieval times and the census should be looking at the future and not the past.

No consensus on caste in census

The Cabinet pushed the contentious caste-based census under the carpet by referring it to a Group of Ministers (GoM), unable to come to an internal agreement. It will examine the modalities of such a headcount, evolve a consensus and submit its report “at the earliest”, said sources.
“It will look into every aspect of the issue,” said a minister who did not want to be named. Only after studying the report will the Cabinet take a formal decision on whether to go for a caste-based census or leave it to a vehicle like the National Population Register (NPR).
The home ministry has its reservations on a caste-based census. The ministry, which circulated a Cabinet note at the meeting, has suggested that the caste count be linked to the NPR instead of the 2011 census.The move is expected to mollify opponents to such a headcount, please those who want to map changing social reality and seek to appease the OBC lobby represented, among others, by the Samajwadi Party and the Rashtriya Janata Dal that had helped the government defeat the Opposition’s cut motion in the Budget session of Parliament.
Home ministry sources were apprehensive that a caste-based census could be a farce if politically conscious communities exaggerate their family size in order to tap perceived benefits flowing from it. This had happened in Nagaland, which showed a whopping 60 per cent population growth between 1991-2001 because some tribes pitched their numbers high to corner a large piece of the development cake so much so that the state government had to reject the report. Such distortions, the ministry believes, can be contained if the caste count is linked to the NPR — where people could be asked to give information on their caste while giving their 10 fingerprints and iris scan. At the Cabinet meeting, at least three ministers in principle opposed the caste-based census. Kapil Sibal and MS Gill questioned the move that would revive an issue that was buried after 1931 — the last time such a count was conducted.
Sibal, sources said, also noted the dichotomy of talking about caste census in a forward-looking 21st century. Anand Sharma had vehemently opposed caste census at the May 4 Cabinet meeting. On Wednesday, he stressed that the issue is very complex, has far-reaching consequences and cannot and should not be decided in a 30-minute discussion in the Cabinet. He backed Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee and Home Minister P Chidambaram’s suggestion that the matter be referred to the GoM. As the issue impacts his ministry, Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Mukul Wasnik wanted to know what purpose collection of such caste data would serve. Another dalit minister Kumari Selja did not speak at the meeting. On his part, Ghulam Nabi Azad wanted to know whether religion would figure in the census. The pro-caste census lobby includes ministers like Veerappa Moily and Jaipal Reddy who made a strong pitch for such a headcount. This lobby believes that a caste count is necessary to give greater impetus to affirmative action vis-a-vis disadvantaged sections and groups.
Over half a dozen of the 32 Cabinet ministers, whose views on the issue would be important, were absent from Wednesday’s meeting. They include crucial allies like Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar, Trinamool Congress’s Mamata Bannerjee and National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah. Among the other absentees were Ambika Soni, AK Alagiri, Subodh Kant Sahay, Kanti Lal Bhuria and A Raja.

Decision on caste census in process - PM

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday informed that the government was in the process of taking a final decision to include caste as a factor to be enumerated in the ongoing Census process.
Replying to a question on the issue, which caused many adjournments in the Lok Sabha during last session of the Parliament, Dr Singh said, “I made a statement in Parliament in which I had said that we would take into account the views expressed by all sections of the House and would shortly take appropriate decision. I will soon ask the Cabinet to consider the views expressed in the Parliament. That process is on.”Informing that the final decision on the issue is yet to be taken, the Prime Minister said, “Discussion on the issue will take place in the Cabinet and whatever decision is taken it will be brought before the people.”
When asked to comment whether a decision favouring inclusion of caste in the Census process would not lead to Mandalisation, the Prime Minister said, the government will keep everything in the mind before taking a final decision. “At the moment, we have not taken a decision,” he added. most of the political parties, including BJP, SP, RJD and JD(U) made strong pitch for inclusion of caste as factor to be enumerated.

LIC, PF officials to join census duty

AHMEDABAD: The issue of 'refusal' of LIC and Provident Fund authorities to relieve their employees for census work almost reached criminal proportions when Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) officials reached Ellisbridge police station to report the matter.

According to AMC sources, a team of AMC officials went to Ellisbridge police station after the employees from LIC delayed in joining the census work. On the issue, an Ellisbridge station official said, "AMC officials came to lodge an FIR against the employees refusing to report for the census work. Later, both the parties came to a truce and no complaint has been lodged." Recently, in an interim order, Justice KA Puj in the Gujarat High Court ruled that AMC's decision to deploy LIC employees for census work is not illegal. The court vacated the stay which allowed LIC workers to keep away from the census work. "The issue has been sorted out after having a long discussion with the concerned authorities.

More than 500 employees of LIC and PF have been asked by the AMC authorities to join the work," said deputy municipal commissioner and in charge of city census work, Arjav Shah. "More than 300 employees will now be part of the census work." added Shah. However, out of the allotted 339 LIC employees, only 200, out of the sanctioned 200 PF employees only 125, will join the work," a senior AMC official said, "The delay in joining has affected the census work. The work has to be completed before June 4." Earlier, the LIC employees had approached the high court against AMC for allotting them census exercise. Census-2011, is a comprehensive database of citizens. AMC authorities have divided the city in 10,977 blocks for the exercise. This is the 15th Census since 1872.