The ghost of fake certificates is also among the reasons for Mamata Banerjee being against caste census.

Kolkata: On the concluding day of the two-day meeting of the alliance of opposition parties ‘India’ in Mumbai, differences among the parties regarding caste-based census came to the fore. In this regard, the proposal presented by Bihar Chief Minister and Janata Dal (United) leader Nitish Kumar was vociferously opposed by West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress National President Mamata Banerjee. It is believed that this difference of opinion over support for the caste census was one of the reasons why Mamata Banerjee and her party’s national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee did not attend the joint press conference at the end of the Mumbai conference.
After all, why is the Chief Minister so sensitive about supporting the caste census? Trinamool Congress leaders are maintaining silence on the issue and claiming that it is only the job of the Chief Minister or the National General Secretary to explain the party’s reasoning behind opposing the census. Political observers and commentators see some solid reasons behind this stance.
According to him, the increasing complaints of issuance of fake caste certificates in West Bengal, which led to a major uproar in the state during the recently concluded elections for the three-tier panchayat system, is a major reason. The second reason is the CM’s inexperience in caste-based politics. It has never been a prominent feature in the politics of West Bengal, as it is in the cow belt i.e. North Indian states. Political analyst Subhasish Moitra, speaking to IANS, said that one reason for Mamata Banerjee opposing the caste census could be the rising allegations of issuing wrong caste certificates in the state. Moitra said, “These allegations came to prominence during the recently concluded elections for the three-tier panchayat system, where several lower-level bureaucrats were accused of issuing fake caste certificates following instructions from the ruling party So that general category candidates can contest elections from reserved seats.”
However, political columnist Amal Sarkar feels that the allegation of fake caste certificates is not the main reason behind Mamata Banerjee’s objection to caste politics. He said, “Such allegations are there in every state. In some states where political parties thrive primarily on caste-based politics, the irregularities in this regard are perhaps even greater than in West Bengal. This may be a reason, but certainly not the main reason for the Chief Minister’s opposition to the caste census.
According to him, caste-based politics has never been a major factor in West Bengal. This is a complete unknown for Mamata Banerjee, unlike JD(U)’s Nitish Kumar, RJD’s Lalu Prasad Yadav, Samajwadi Party’s Akhilesh Yadav, BSP’s Mayawati and to some extent the DMK in Tamil Nadu. Sarkar said, “Remember, religion-based politics, whether nurturing it or opposing it, is to some extent a straitjacket pattern. However, there are many undercurrents in caste-based politics. Prominent leaders in the Cow Belt and to some extent in Tamil Nadu have long experience of dealing with these undercurrents and largely stick to caste-based politics. The same is the condition not only of Mamata Banerjee but of the leaders of all the political parties of West Bengal. So in my opinion Mamata Banerjee’s hesitation to step into this uncharted territory is the reason for her resistance to the caste-based census.”
Both Moitra and the government feel that this issue of caste-based census could become a major point of contention among the constituents of the ‘India’ alliance in the coming days. The distance of Trinamool Congress from those demanding this may increase.