Guwahati, Apr 30 (PTI) Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Wednesday welcomed the Union Cabinet's decision to include caste enumeration in the next census.

'We welcome #Census 2025, which will further strengthen the agenda of social justice and is a tribute to Dr Ram Manohar Lohia, Jan Nayak Karpoori Thakur and several other greats', the chief minister posted on X.

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'The Modi government has always stood for the representation and rights of our backward communities', he said.

The Union government on Wednesday announced that caste enumeration will be included in the next census exercise in a "transparent" manner and slammed the opposition parties for using caste survey as a "political tool".

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The Congress and other opposition parties have been vociferously demanding a nationwide caste census, making it a major election issue, and some states like Bihar, Telangana and Karnataka have conducted such surveys.

The government decision comes ahead of assembly elections in Bihar, where several parties including some BJP allies have been coming out in support of the caste census.

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 "non-transparently" which has created doubts in the society.

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