The Telangana Assembly on Tuesday unanimously passed a resolution urging the central government to conduct a nationwide caste-based survey. Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy moved the resolution, stating that the state government remains committed to the welfare of Backward Classes (BCs), Scheduled Castes (SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs), and other weaker sections.
The resolution, adopted unanimously, called for the Centre to conduct a socio-economic, employment, political, and caste survey across the country, similar to the one recently carried out in Telangana.
Congress Pushes for BC Reservations
During the special one-day Assembly session convened to discuss the caste survey and a judicial commission report on SC categorization, CM Revanth Reddy highlighted key findings from the survey. The Congress government has proposed a 42% reservation for BCs in upcoming local body elections, despite legal constraints on exceeding the 50% reservation cap.
Reddy challenged opposition parties, including the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), to support the initiative. Before the 2023 Assembly elections, the Congress had promised to raise BC reservations in local bodies to 42%.
Debate Over the Caste Survey Report
All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen (AIMIM) floor leader Akbaruddin Owaisi questioned why the full caste survey report had not been tabled in the Assembly. In response, Reddy stated that the report consists of four volumes, with the fourth volume containing sensitive personal data. He assured that the government would release the survey findings after legal vetting, asserting that it has “nothing to hide.”
Comparing the findings of the latest caste survey with an Intensive Household Survey (IHS) conducted during the previous BRS government, Revanth Reddy pointed out that the BC population had increased from 40% in IHS to 46.25% in the current survey. The Muslim population grew from 11% to 12.56%, while the Other Castes (OC) category declined from 21% to 15%.
In a sharp critique of BRS, Reddy claimed that the IHS data was neither approved by the state cabinet nor discussed in the Assembly when conducted under the previous government. He further accused BRS chief K Chandrasekhar Rao and other party leaders of avoiding participation in the caste survey.
Opposition Walkout and BJP’s Objections
BRS staged a walkout from the Assembly, with party working president K T Rama Rao accusing Congress of misleading the backward classes. Meanwhile, BJP leader Payala Shankar questioned the classification of “Muslim BCs” in the survey, arguing that it may not hold up under legal scrutiny.
Congress to Push for Nationwide Caste Survey
Revanth Reddy criticized the BJP-led central government for not conducting a census since 2011, stating that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government is reluctant to provide opportunities for backward classes. He added that Congress, through its Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, would push for a nationwide caste survey in Parliament.
Earlier in the day, the Telangana cabinet held discussions on the caste survey findings and the judicial commission’s report on SC categorization. The state planning department, which conducted the survey, submitted its final report to a cabinet sub-committee led by Civil Supplies Minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy on February 2.
With the Telangana government taking the lead in conducting a comprehensive caste survey, the demand for similar studies at the national level is likely to gain momentum in the coming months.
Sources By Agencies
