HYDERABAD: Union Coal & Mines Minister and BJP state president G Kishan Reddy on Sunday said that the Backward Classes (BC) caste survey conducted by the Telangana government lacks statutory backing. He asserted that a legally valid caste census can only be undertaken through the national census mechanism.
He was addressing the BJP state office-bearers at a meeting held at the party office in Hyderabad. The meeting discussed the Centre’s decision to initiate a caste census through constitutional means. Sources said Kishan briefed the attendees on how the Union government plans to conduct the caste census and the legal procedures involved.
He reportedly told the leaders that the last official caste census was conducted during British rule and that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government intends to carry out a genuine and comprehensive caste census with full legal backing. He instructed party MPs, MLAs, MLCs and district presidents to hold community-level meetings to explain the distinction between the Telangana government’s BC survey and the proposed national caste census.
Sources also indicated that the Centre is likely to amend the Census Act in the coming days to facilitate the caste census.
Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Rajya Sabha member R Krishnaiah hailed Modi’s decision as historic and demanded that Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy release the findings of the state’s BC survey. He alleged that the state government carried out the survey only under pressure from BC associations and questioned its credibility.