Several political parties including BJP and the JD(U) on Thursday reacted cautiously to the cabinet's decision to carry out an independent caste census, while the Congress welcomed the move saying it is with the government on the issue.
JD(U) President Sharad Yadav, who has been spearheading the demand for inclusion of caste in the ongoing census exercise, said his party will examine the government's decision.
"We will examine it. Our demand was for caste enumeration in the on-going headcount. I don't know what is the logic of the government deciding to do it separately now," Yadav said.
The JD(U) chief's reaction came after the Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, decided in favour of caste census. The exercise would be carried out next year independent of the ongoing census operation.
RJD chief Lalu Prasad described as a 'victory' of the political parties which pressed for it.
''It is our victory,'' Prasad, whose party RJD was among those who pressed for the caste census independent of the ongoing census, Lalu told reporters in Patna.
''We had raised the issue in Parliament and the Centre has bowed to the pressure built up by us by acceding to our demand,'' he said.
All castes would be benefitted by such a census and the scheduled castes and scheduled tribes would be the most benefitted, he added.
Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari said the party is with the government over the issue.
"Casteism is the reality of India. If the government of India has recognized this reality and agreed to inclusion of caste in census, nobody should have any objection," he said.
Tewari, however, said it would be premature to comment further till the modalities of the exercise are worked out.
The BJP has also said it would have been happier had the caste been included in the on-going census process.
"It is the cabinet's decision to hold it separately from the regular census. We would ideally have been happy if it was done (along) with the census process," BJP spokesperson Shahnawaj Hussain said.