Lucknow, Apr 30 (PTI) Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya on Wednesday hailed the Centre's decision to include caste enumeration in the upcoming census exercise, describing it as a "historic" move.

In a post on X, Maurya lauded Prime Minister Narendra Modi for taking what he termed a long-awaited step.

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“The successful Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi ji's decision for a caste census is historic. The entire Dalit, tribal and backward communities wholeheartedly welcome this decision. This was awaited for decades,” Maurya said.

Taking a swipe at opposition parties, he added, “This is also a lesson for those leaders who would often raise the demand for a caste census but conveniently forgot the issue while being in power for decades.”

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“Caste is a reality of Indian politics, and caste census is its axis. Democracy will be strengthened by this,” he said.

Maurya said the prime minister understands the realities of grassroots politics.

“With this decision, he has touched the hearts of crores of Indians. We are grateful to him from the bottom of our hearts. Vande Mataram!” he added.

In a major decision, the government on Wednesday decided to include caste enumeration in the forthcoming census exercise in a "transparent" manner.

Announcing the decision taken by the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs, Union minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said the census comes under the purview of the Centre but some states have done caste enumeration in the name of surveys.

Alleging that the states ruled by opposition parties have done caste surveys for political reasons, the minister said it is Modi government's resolve to transparently include caste enumeration in the forthcoming pan-India census exercise.

The census exercise was to commence in April 2020 but got delayed due to the Covid pandemic.

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