Dravidar Kazhagam, ideological mentor of the DMK on Thursday demanded a caste-wise head count during the Census 2021 exercise.
Asserting that reservation should be based on the basis of population, DK president K Veeramani said there were indications that only the Scheduled Castes and Tribes will be enumerated and not the Bacward Classes.
Hence, the demand for caste-wise head count warranted priority and voice should be raised to get it done, he said.
The top leader of the rationalist outfit said Opposition parties should raise the issue unitedly in the Parliament.
The Opposition should urge the Centre "to not avoid caste-wise census for any reason and come forward to undertake caste wise head count," he said in a statement here.
Recently, PMK founder-leader S Ramadoss had urged the Centre to undertake the 2021 census operation through caste-wise enumeration to ensure social justice to all sections of people.