The flip side of a caste survey: Telangana feels the heat over numbers

As per the connection connected the caste survey tabled successful the Assembly – the elaborate study is inactive awaited – 56.33% of the state’s 3.7 crore colonisation beryllium to the backward classes, of which 10.08% comprise Muslim backward classes. Thus, the study puts the fig of non-Muslim backward classes astatine 46.25% of the population.

The archetypal to question this was salient backward people look and BJP person R Krishnaiah, who claimed that non-Muslim backward classes should relationship for implicit 50% of the state’s population. BJP MLA Payal Shankar seconded this, with enactment leaders suggesting that the Congress authorities was trying to payment Muslim backward classes astatine the disbursal of non-Muslim.

The Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) besides took up the matter, claiming that the backward classes successful the authorities should fig 61% of the colonisation overall. The BRS based this connected the ‘Samagra Kutumba Survey’ oregon ‘Comprehensive Household Survey’ conducted by it erstwhile successful powerfulness successful 2014.

BRS moving president K T Rama Rao said, “The Congress has undercounted the backward classes arsenic it does not privation to springiness benefits to this group.”

The enactment is brewing adjacent arsenic Congress person Rahul Gandhi has cited the Telangana caste survey arsenic a occurrence communicative successful his propulsion for a nationwide caste census. Gandhi besides talked astir it successful Parliament during the statement connected the Motion of Thanks to the President’s Address.

Additionally, the Telangana government’s adoption of sub-categorisation wrong the quota for Scheduled Castes is proving tricky. Nationally, aft the Supreme Court’s go-ahead for the sub-categorisation, the Congress has stayed wide of this.

While determination is request from immoderate SC quarters for sub-categorisation, including importantly the Madigas successful Telangana, Dalit groups and leaders reason it saying this would origin divisions betwixt them and trim their bargaining power.

Ironically, adjacent the Madigas person raised a reddish emblem implicit the Telangana survey numbers. The astir salient Madiga face, Manda Krishna Madiga, who has been starring a question seeking a abstracted quota for the Madigas for years, and who is present aligned with the BJP, has said that portion the Madigas relationship for 11% of the state’s population, the authorities plans to springiness them 9% preservation wrong the wide SC quota of 15%.

“The authorities has not fixed the Madigas their rightful stock wrong the SC category. What is being done is simply an eyewash,” Manda Krishna said.

The Telangana sub-categorisation look sets speech 1% quota for SCs categorised successful Group I, 9% for SCs categorised successful Group II (such arsenic the Madigas), and 5% for SCs categorised successful Group III.

Adding different space to the debate, the AIMIM has questioned wherefore the Revanth Reddy authorities had utilized the 2011 Census figures to determine sub-categorisation alternatively than connected its ain caste survey. AIMIM person and MLA Akbaruddin Owaisi said: “Does this mean that the authorities does not judge successful its ain survey?”

The authorities authorities countered the BRS saying that its survey had been flawed. “This survey was not tabled successful the House and hence has nary ineligible validity,” Revanth Reddy said successful the Assembly. This was reiterated by astir each Congress leaders who spoke successful the House, including ministers Uttam Kumar Reddy and D Sridhar Babu.

A time later, astatine the extremity of a powerpoint presumption detailing the methodology of the caste survey, Uttam Reddy said: “The BJP and BRS are simply casting aspersions. We followed a dependable methodology and covered 96.9% of the households successful Telangana.”

Backward people ministers Konda Surekha and Ponnam Prabhakar excessively accused the Opposition of “misleading the public”.

The Congress volition beryllium counting connected enactment from its cadre from the backward classes arsenic good arsenic SCs to spot the survey study through. The party’s leaders representing these groups person issued statements hailing the Revanth Reddy government’s “social betterment initiatives”, with immense rallies held successful Hyderabad successful enactment of the sub-categorisation.

“We are assured that the radical of Telangana realise that the Congress has done justness to some the backward classes and SCs,” Uttam Reddy said.