Prashant Kishor demands white paper on caste survey, threatens agitation

Prashant Kishor

Jan Suraaj founder Prashant Kishor on Monday threatened to launch an agitation against the Nitish Kumar government in Bihar if his three key demands — including a white paper on the much-discussed caste survey — are not fulfilled within a month.

The former political strategist also demanded an "immediate halt" to the ongoing land survey, alleging massive corruption in the process. He also called for a government response regarding its promise to provide three decimals of land to members of the Dalit and Mahadalit communities.

Speaking to reporters, Kishor said, "If the NDA government in the state does not accept our three demands, Jan Suraaj will launch a signature campaign in 40,000 revenue villages across the state starting May 11.

"On July 11, we will submit a memorandum to the government after collecting signatures from one crore people. If even then our demands are ignored, we will gherao the Assembly during the next monsoon session of the Vidhan Sabha, which will be the last session before the upcoming assembly polls later this year." "Our first demand is related to the caste survey conducted by the state government. The CM, based on the findings of the caste-based survey report tabled in the Assembly on November 7, 2023, had promised a one-time financial assistance of Rs 2 lakh to 94 lakh families earning less than Rs 6,000 per month. Not even a single family has received this assistance. We demand a white paper from the government on this within a month," he said.

He asked, "What about the increased reservation of 65 per cent promised on the basis of this survey?" According to Kishor, the second demand is related to the government's promise of providing three decimals of land to 50 lakh homeless/landless families, belonging to Dalit and Mahadalit families, for construction of their houses.

"According to government records, only 2 lakh families have been allotted land and even that is only on paper — possession has not been granted. The Nitish Kumar government has cheated people belonging to Dalit and Mahadalit communities on the issue. The government must clarify when these families will receive actual possession of the land," he alleged.

Regarding his third demand, Kishor called for the suspension of the ongoing land survey.

"We urge the government to immediately stop this exercise. Massive corruption is taking place in the name of land surveys. Officials are extorting money from people. While states like Telangana and Andhra Pradesh have surveyed 80 per cent of the land and digitised revenue records, Bihar has only 20 per cent since the process began in 2013. This slow progress has led to a surge in land-related disputes, including cases of murder and attempted murder," he alleged.

He added that the land survey had long been part of the Nitish Kumar government’s agenda due to the growing number of land disputes, which pose a serious law and order challenge in the state.

"The government’s stated aim behind this land survey was to reduce land disputes, but that goal remains unfulfilled," he said.

The Bihar government has been undertaking a special land survey to update records after having already missed a few deadlines since it began in 2013.

The last cadastral survey in the state was held in 1911 during British rule. The government's main aim behind conducting land surveys is to reduce the cases of land disputes in the state.