Counting took a while, with legal hurdles

It has not been a smooth ride for the Bihar caste census.

The state cabinet gave its nod to hold a caste survey on June 2 last year when it also allocated an amount of Rs 500 crore for the mammoth exercise. The survey briefly ran into rough weather when it was stayed by the Patna High Court which was hearing a bunch of petitions challenging the exercise.

However, the deadline it then set, of February 2023, was overshot and the survey itself could take off no sooner than January 7 this year.

Leaders of the ruling Mahagathbandhan in the state have been alleging that those filing petitions were “BJP supporters”, a charge denied by the saffron party which underscores that it was in the government when the cabinet nod was given for the survey.