* Caste census is the ‘Bible, Bhagavad Gita, and Quran’ for all weaker sections’

* Telangana Chief Minister reaches out to BC Associations seeking support

metro india news  I hyderabad

The Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy asserted that no politician had ever undertaken the kind of risk he did by implementing the caste survey despite pressures from various quarters. He emphasized that the survey was a crucial step toward ensuring social justice, fulfilling a promise made by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi during the Bharat Jodo Yatra.

Speaking at a special meeting, aimed at reaching out to the BC leaders, at Praja Bhavan on Saturday, Revanth Reddy urged BC associations and communities to take ownership of the survey and support the government's efforts to provide legal sanctity to reservations. He assured that the data was collected with utmost transparency, involving over 1.5 lakh employees from ten government departments over a period of 50 days.

Opposition misleading people on Caste Census

The Chief Minister accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of spreading misinformation regarding the caste census due to its reluctance to conduct a similar exercise at the national level. He claimed that BJP leaders feared backlash from dominant social groups and were distorting the process to mislead people.

"The BJP is conspiring against the caste census because they know that if the exact numbers of BCs are revealed their demands for political, educational, and employment benefits will grow stronger," Revanth Reddy stated. 

CM took aim at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, stating that Modi had admitted in a 2022 interview that Muslims in Gujarat were benefiting from the OBC category, but never spoke about it in the media. Revanth contrasted this with the Congress party's transparent approach toward caste-based reservations. He further stressed that Rahul Gandhi had likened the caste census to an "X-ray" that would expose social injustices, reinforcing the Congress party’s commitment to the cause.

Revanth challenged opposition leaders, including K Chandrashekar Rao, Harish Rao, and Union Ministers G Kishan Reddy and Bandi Sanjay, to prove any discrepancies in the collected data instead of faulting the survey on the whole.

The CM highlighted that the previous BRS government had hidden the findings of the Comprehensive Family Survey due to its inaccuracies and used the data only for electoral gains. In contrast, the Congress government had undertaken the caste survey with scientific rigor and integrity.

Call for unity among BC communities

Revanth Reddy called upon BC leaders to actively campaign for the caste census and spread awareness among communities. He urged them to organize meetings and adopt resolutions by March 10, reinforcing their collective demand for enhanced reservations and benefits.

"This caste census is the ‘Bible, Bhagavad Gita, and Quran’ for all weaker sections. It is now your responsibility to take it forward and ensure it reaches its rightful conclusion," he said. The Chief Minister also challenged the BJP to include a caste census in the national census and prove who was wrong. A resolution was passed at the meeting, demanding the inclusion of caste data in the national census, strengthening the case for increased representation and social justice for BC communities.

Revanth Reddy reiterated his commitment to implementing the survey's findings and called on BC leaders to maintain unity in the fight for their rights. "History will not forgive us if we miss this opportunity," he said