OBC caste census will be done soon: Shripad

Panaji: Union minister of state Shripad Naik on Friday said that state govt is not opposed to conducting a caste census of the other backward classes (OBC) and that it will be done as soon as possible.
Naik said that govt is making efforts to resolve the issues related to the caste census in the state. “We are the ruling party, and we have taken everyone on board to make a decision. Govt is not opposed to a caste-based census and is moving in the right direction,” he said.
OBC leaders, mostly from BJP, are submitting memoranda to political parties and leaders to push for conducting the OBC census in the state.
During the recently concluded budget session of the state legislative assembly, Fatorda MLA Vijai Sardesai urged state govt to take immediate steps to conduct the OBC caste census.
Sardesai, in his zero-hour mention, had said that OBCs fear deprivation of socio-economic benefits in Goa due to incorrect and inadequate population data for more than a decade. He noted that the OBC, comprising 19 castes, forms about one-third of the state’s population. Considering the socio-economic and political backwardness of the community, govt has previously extended reservations to the OBC.