Telangana CM Revanth faces challenges on caste survey implementation
As per the caste survey, 56.33% of the state’s 37 million population belong to the other backward classes, including 10.08% of Muslim backward classes
The Telangana government, headed by chief minister A Revanth Reddy, and which has just completed the comprehensive socio-economic, educational, employment, political, and caste survey in the state assembly on February 4, is now facing the biggest challenge of implementing the same.
The government tabled the summary of the caste survey and also the one-man commission report on the categorisation of Scheduled Castes for extending reservations in education and employment, in the state assembly and council on February 4.
As per the caste survey, 56.33% of the state’s 37 million population belong to the other backward classes (OBCs), including 10.08% of Muslim backward classes. Thus, the report puts the number of non-Muslim OBCs at 46.25% of the population.
On the other hand, the survey revealed that Scheduled Castes (SCs) make up 17.43% (618,400), while Scheduled Tribes (STs) account for 10.45% (370,500) of the population.
The report on SC sub-categorisation includes division of 59 castes into three groups — Group-I includes as many as 15 sub-castes, which are the most backward and neglected castes, accounting for 3.288% and the commission recommended that they should receive 1% reservation.
Similarly, Group-II consists of 18 moderately benefited sub-castes of SCs with a population of 62.748% and they would get 9% reservation; and Group-III includes as many as 26 better-benefited sub-castes of SCs accounting for 33.963% of the SC population and they should be allocated 5% quota.
GRUMBLING OVER CASTE SURVEY
While the opposition parties have openly attacked the Revanth Reddy government on the caste survey calling it unscientific, there is grumbling within the Congress as well, expressing doubts over the figures of the OBCs.
On the day of the tabling of the caste survey summary, Congress MLC Chintapandu Naveen Kumar, popularly known as Teenmaar Mallanna, lashed out at the government for conducting a fake survey and burnt the copy of the statement.
Mallanna, a prominent OBC leader, said that the survey doesn’t reflect the accurate figures of the OBCs, who he claimed constituted more than 60% of the population. “Compared to the voters list, there is a lot of variation in the OBC population figures. This is done deliberately and is a humiliation to the OBCs. The chief minister has no intention to uplift the OBCs,” he said.
The Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee served a show-cause notice to Mallanna for crossing the party line and making wild allegations against the government.
A Congress leader familiar with the matter said some other OBC leaders of the party, too, expressed their apprehensions over the authenticity of the survey, but they did not come out in the open against the government.
On Saturday evening, state BC welfare minister Ponnam Prabhakar, along with other OBC leaders of the party called for a meeting of the representatives of various OBC associations to understand their apprehensions and rectify their doubts. National OBC welfare association president R Krishnaiah, state BC welfare association president Jajula Srinivas Goud and 10 other leaders attended the meeting.
The Congress leader quoted above said the OBC leaders brought to the notice of the government that there were several discrepancies in the comprehensive caste survey. “The government will address all their concerns and will rectify the same if there are really any flaws in the survey,” he said.
CHALLENGES IN IMPLEMENTATION
While grappling with the criticism over the discrepancies in the conduct of caste survey, the Revanth Reddy government is facing the challenge of implementing the survey in political, education and employment fields.
The immediate challenge before the Congress government is the implementation of reservations for OBCs in the local body elections, likely to be held in the last week of February and the first week of March.
At present, the OBCs enjoy 33% reservation in the local bodies. But prominent OBC leaders, including Rajya Sabha MP and national OBC welfare association president R Krishnaiah and former Telangana OBC commission chairman Vakulabharanam Krishna Mohan Rao demanded that the Congress government should implement 42% reservations for OBCs in the upcoming local body elections.
“We shall launch large-scale agitations if the Revanth Reddy government fails to implement a 42% quota for OBCs in local body elections,” Krishna Mohan said.
Bharat Rashtra Samithi leader and MLC K Kavitha went a step ahead and demanded that the government should implement 46.25% quota for OBCs in the local body elections as per the caste survey. “What is the point in conducting the survey without implementing it? The reservations should be provided as per the percentage of OBC population,” she asserted, while speaking in the council during the debate on the caste survey.
The chief minister, however, told reporters in New Delhi on Friday that increasing OBC reservations in local bodies to 42% is not possible. “The Supreme Court mandates that total reservations should remain within 50%. Any increase beyond 50% requires a Constitutional amendment, which is under the Centre’s jurisdiction, not the state government,” he said.
Revanth Reddy, however, said the Congress, as a party, will extend reservations to the OBCs in the issuance of party tickets in local body elections as per the survey findings.
DOUBTS OVER SC CATEGORISATION
Interestingly, even the SCs have expressed their own doubts over the caste survey as well as SC categorisation.
Manda Krishna Madiga, who has been leading a movement for categorisation of SCs and seeking a fair share for Madigas in education, employment and politics, said that while the Madigas account for 11% of the state’s population, they were given only 9% reservation as per the one-man commission report, tabled in the assembly.
“According to the Commission, Madigas were 3.2 million while Malas were only 1.5 million. Given this, how Malas get 5% and Madigas, more than double the Malas’ population, get only 9%?” Krishna Madiga asked and added that Madigas should get 11%.
Revanth Reddy, however, said the government had no say in the SC categorisation, which was done by the judicial commission, whose report was tabled in the assembly.