Nitish Kumar, the chief minister of Bihar, has said that the results of the caste survey would be presented before the assembly

Nitish Kumar, the chief minister of Bihar, said on Wednesday that information gathered as part of the caste census, including the financial standing of families, will be presented to the state parliament.

On the fringes of a celebration commemorating the birth anniversary of the great socialist leader Jayaprakash Narayan, who had inspired him to enter politics as an engineering student in the 1970s, he was responding to questions from reporters.

“People all throughout the nation are talking about what we have achieved. As a future stage, we will document information such household economic status, which will provide a fuller picture. The chief minister promised that this will be done during the next assembly session.

However, when asked whether the study, which revealed that OBCs and Extremely Backward Classes (EBCs) make up almost two-thirds of the population, would be followed by an increase in quotas to guarantee equitable representation, the JD(U) leader dodged the questions.

“To comment on this would not be proper on my part. At least not right now,” Kumar curtly responded. His party RJD has taken a hardline stance on the matter, insisting that now that the Supreme Court’s 50% cap on reservations has been lifted and the Economically Weaker Section (EWS) quotas are in effect in place, all social groups should receive a share in accordance with their respective populations.

The chief minister, who severed relations with the BJP about a year ago, was also questioned about the party’s claim that the survey was rigged to favor the “MY” (Muslim-Yadav) of the RJD, which Tejashwi Yadav, his deputy, is a member of.

With Yadav at his side, Kumar said that he “takes no notice” of the BJP’s statements and does not see the need to respond since “by virtue of being in power at the Centre they have virtually captured the media.”

“This is the cause of my lack of desire to read newspapers, something I used to do on a regular basis while I was a student. Young journalists, however, need not fear. Once the present administration is gone, they will soon be free to perform their profession, according to the JD(U) leader, who was instrumental in the building of the INDIA alliance.

He did, however, deflect inquiries on the grievances of several NDA leaders in the state who have questioned the survey’s results by asserting that the enumerators never visited their homes.