Leaders of various political parties today strongly supported a caste based census in the country. <br/><br/>Resuming the debate in the Lok Sabha Samajwadi Party chief, Mr. Mulayam Singh Yadav said such an exercise is essential for giving identity to backward classes, apart from making them partners in the growth process. He criticized those political forces that are opposing the idea and said that it will also provide data for identifying and addressing their problems in a holistic manner.<br/><br/>Participating in the debate, the ruling coalition members maintained that the discussion on the issue is essential to widen the scope for evolving a consensus. <br/><br/>The opposition BJP while supporting the idea of caste based census, said that this will help the government to create schemes for the development of backward sections of the population. Members of BJP, JDU, Congress, RJD participated in the debate, which is continuing.<br/><br/>Meanwhile, The Congress today described the caste based census as a sensitive issue. The party spokesman, Shakeel Ahmed said that the views of everyone needs to be taken in this regard before coming to any conclusion.