Patna: Demanding Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led NDA government to make the caste-based Census data public, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Monday accused the BJP of indulging in caste-based politics by concealing the details.

“They talk about caste for vote bank. Nobody is a bigger casteist, communalist than BJP here. What's the point of releasing caste Census if it's not even made public. This shows their real intentions,” Kumar told ANI.

Launching a scathing attack on PM Modi, Kumar further added, “He became PM with talks on caste and so many claims about his caste. He should make the details of Census public.”

Yesterday, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad Yadav announced that his party would compel the BJP to make the caste-based Census data public.

"Centre should make the caste Census public instead of withholding the data on numerical strength of different castes," Lalu Prasad said while addressing his party workers here to celebrate 19th anniversary of the RJD.

"People have right to know it and every caste should know its strength and weakness in terms of population and other things," he said.

The release of caste data is considered a political hot potato and there are strong views for and against it, which were voiced even five six years back, when the process for the SECC had begun during the UPA government.

The NDA government had refrained from releasing the caste-based data in its first Socio Economic and Caste Census (SECC) and maintained that it was concerned with economic data which will help in effective implementation of its programmes.