Ahead of a short discussion in the Telangana Assembly over the concluded caste census report, BRS MLC Kalvakuntla Kavitha cast doubts over the veracity of the data collated through the survey.
The MLC demanded that the data be made available for public scrutiny and the local polls be held in the state only after the state government implements 56.3 per cent reservation for the Backward Classes.
Transport minister Ponnam Prabhakar said among the Kalvakuntla family only Kavitha had participated in the caste census.
Kavitha compared the data from an earlier survey conducted by the BRS government soon after coming to power for the first time with that of the caste census carried out in November-December last year. However, the data of the BRS conducted Samagra Kutumba Survey was never put in the public domain.
The BRS MLC said the number of BCs in the state should have been much higher than what was reflected in the Caste Census carried out by the Congress government. She also raised doubts over the increase in the population of other castes (OC) which is currently 15.3 per cent including Muslim minorities. If the OC population has gone up, the population of BCs, SCs and STs and minorities should have gone up too, surmised Kavitha.
Kavitha claimed that BC leaders and other organizations working for BC reservations have raised doubts about the numbers that came up after the caste census. “We very strongly believe that the data is not correct. The number of Other Backward Classes (OBC) is much higher. The survey was not done properly, the enumerators were not trained properly, and the questions were not correct. When you see the process there are many faults,” she said. However, she added that the government must implement the reservation according to the census before going for local body polls in the state.
“We unequivocally demand that before going to the local body elections you should give reservation to this 56.3 percent (BC population). There are, of course, many doubts about the enumeration process and the numbers the Congress government has given yet, you must give reservations to this number before going to elections as the Congress had promised during elections (Assembly),” said Kavitha.
She also wanted the government to give a chance to those who have missed the survey to come forward and give their details in the next 15 days.
The caste census report will be placed before the state Cabinet tomorrow. Immediately, it will be placed before the state Legislative Assembly which will convene for a special session for a day.