Chief minister Hemant Soren, leading an 11-member delegation of all parties including the Opposition, met Union home minister Amit Shah on Sunday and handed over a memorandum seeking caste based census in the upcoming nationwide population census.

Talking to reporters after the meeting, Hemant said the Centre must take into consideration the growing demands from many quarters on this subject. “Caste based census is the need of the hour to be able to get a proper picture of the population index in the country so that one can frame plans and policies accordingly for overall development of the country,” he said.

The Centre has, however, clarified it's opposition to the move in the form of an affidavit in Supreme Court. It said it would not include a headcount of other backward caste (OBCs) in the upcoming census.

Among those present in the delegation were BJP’s Prakash, state Congress president Rajesh Thakur and Congress legislature party leader Alamgir Alam, Ajsu-P chief Sudesh Mahto, RJD leader Satyanand Bhokta, CPI (ML) leader Vinod Singh, CPI leader Bhuvneshwar Prasad Mehata, CPM leader Suresh Munda, Marxxist Community Centre leader Arup Chatterjee and NCP's Kamlesh Singh (NCP).

In the three- page memorandum addressed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Hemant noted that the last census on caste lines was done in 1931 on the basis of which reservation to backward class was recommended by the Mandal Commission. But no caste census was conducted after Independence which has led to several anomalies while implementing developmental schemes and policies for the socially and economic backward class.

“In such a scenario, if we don’t conduct caste based census this time, then we will not be able to get the real picture of people of these communities,” he said.

Hemant also cited Article 340 of the Indian Constitution which allows for the formation of a commission exclusively for surveying economically and socially weaker sections of society. “By conducting caste based census, we will be able to ensure compliance of this provision enshrined in the Constitution,” read the memorandum signed by all the visiting members.

Later, state finance minister Rameshwar Oraon issued a statement saying the state government must now plan to conduct its own OBC census in case the Centre continued to shy away from its responsibilities.