LUCKNOW, April 30 -- Uttar Pradesh deputy chief minister Keshav Prasad Maurya has welcomed the Union government's decision to include caste enumeration in the next national census.

Reacting to the development on Wednesday, Maurya said: "I would like to thank Prime Minister Narendra Modi from the bottom of my heart for this decision. Rahul Gandhi, other Congress leaders, and the Samajwadi Party used to create drama over the demand for a caste census. Those who are truly committed take decisive action. Today, the BJP government at the Centre has taken a historic step. People from Dalit, backward, tribal and other communities are happy with this move. This is like Diwali for 140 crore people of India. 'Modi hai to mumkin hai'."

U.P. BJP pr...