HYDERABAD: Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) president and MLC B Mahesh Kumar Goud has launched a strong counter to Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s recent comments on the caste census, calling them misinformed. In an interview with The New Indian Express, Shah had dismissed Telangana’s exercise as a “survey,” while asserting that the BJP-led Centre was conducting a “proper census.”
Reacting sharply, Mahesh Kumar Goud accused the Union Minister of lacking even a basic understanding of constitutional provisions related to census operations. He pointed out that, as per the Constitution and the Census Act, 1948, only the Union government is legally empowered to conduct an official census. “The Congress-led Telangana government has acted within the legal boundaries by carrying out a comprehensive socio-economic, educational, employment, political, and caste-based survey, since the state does not have the constitutional authority to conduct a census,” he clarified.
The TPCC chief highlighted that Telangana’s survey, termed SEEEPC (Socio-Economic, Education, Employment, Political, and Caste survey), covered a massive population of over 3.54 crore people. “With this depth and breadth of data collection, what else is left to find out? Amit Shah clearly doesn’t understand the scope of what Telangana has achieved,” he said.
Mahesh Kumar Goud also rebutted Shah’s claim that the BJP government initiated the caste census on its own volition. He said it was Rahul Gandhi’s consistent demand during the Bharat Jodo Yatra that forced the Centre to respond. “Where were JP Nadda and Rajnath Singh when Rahul Gandhi was vocally advocating for a caste census? Why didn’t they support it then?” he questioned.
He further asserted that unlike the BJP, which is only beginning the exercise, the Congress government in Telangana has already started delivering on the data collected. “The State has announced 42% reservations for Backward Classes in the local body elections,” he said.
Goud demanded that Amit Shah and the Union government immediately clear the legislative bills passed by the Telangana Assembly to enhance the quota to 42% for BCs. “If the Centre is sincere about social justice, let it support what Telangana has already initiated on the ground by adding the legislation’s in the ninth schedule of the constitutions,” he said.