HYDERABAD: Several Backward Classes associations on Sunday welcomed Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy’s decision to conduct a caste census. As many as 22 BC organisations met here on Sunday and described the CM’s decision as “historic”.
Addressing the meeting, National BC Welfare Association president and Rajya Sabha MP R Krishnaiah said that the census would help the BCs to get their fair share in employment and also in political reservations.
Krishnaiah said that all the BC organisations and political parties should unite and exert pressure on the Union government to take up caste census across the country. If the Centre fails to concede to the demands of the BCs, then the MPs should boycott Parliament session, he said.
The caste census would help people of various castes to get the state government’s benefits in proportion to their population. The government would be able to increase the funds for various BC corporations, he said.
At present, the wards and divisions in local body elections are allotted to the BCs based on draw of lots. With this, some persons were going to courts and challenging the same, Krishnaiah recalled.
If the census data is available, the government will be able find a permanent solution for BC reservations issue in local body elections, he added.
Krishnaiah recalled that the previous state government reduced the reservations for BCs in local body elections from 34 per cent to 22 per cent. After the census, the Congress government should increase the reservations to BCs as per their population, he demanded.
He recalled that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi announced that after the census, the reservations for BCs would be increased. The Congress assured in its poll manifesto that it would create one corporation for every caste, Krishnaiah said and requested the state government to set up 40 more corporations in addition to the 13 existing corporations.