New Delhi, May 1 -- Reacting to the Centre's decision to conduct a caste-based census, Communist Party of India national general secretary D Raja on Thursday said the move comes after sustained pressure from opposition parties and rising public demand.

Speaking to ANI, Raja accused the BJP of long-standing resistance to the idea and questioned the timing of the decision, linking it to upcoming elections in Bihar.

"The Communist Party of India, the left parties, the Congress party, and other secular democratic parties have been demanding the caste census. But the BJP disagreed with it until this minute. Finally, seeing the popular support for it and the consistency on the part of opposition parties, the BJP government finally agreed to i...