Telangana assembly adopts resolution urging Centre for caste census

The resolution on caste census was introduced in the Telangana assembly by chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao soon after the question hour

The Telangana state assembly on Friday unanimously adopted a resolution requesting that the Centre take up a caste-wise census of backward classes as part of the general census for 2021.

Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao during the unveiling of the portrait of the former prime minister PV Narsimha Rao, at State Assembly in Hyderabad on Friday. (PTI)

The resolution was introduced by chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao soon after the question hour. It was passed by the members cutting across parties through a voice vote.

“Telangana Legislative Assembly, with a view to ensuring welfare of backward classes, urges the Central government that caste-wise census of backward classes be conducted while holding the general census for 2021,” the resolution said.

KCR, as the chief minister is known, said the OBCs constituted nearly 50% of Telangana’s population. In the absence of an accurate census of the OBCs, the welfare schemes being implemented by the state were not reaching all sections.

“It is necessary to maintain accurate statistics for taking up various welfare schemes for the uplift of the backward classes. Various political parties across the country also demanded caste-based census of OBCs and several state assemblies also passed resolutions in this regard,” he said.

“I don’t understand why the Centre is refusing to take up the enumeration of Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in the country. It even submitted an affidavit to the Supreme Court in this regard,” he pointed out, adding that the state assembly would adopt a resolution on caste-based census and send it to the Centre for necessary action.

KCR also demanded that the Centre increase the percentage of reservations for Scheduled Castes in tune with their growing population.

“The Centre has fixed a 15 per cent reservation for the SCs in education and employment at the national level as well as in the states. Over the years, the population of SCs has gone up considerably all over the country. Therefore, the Centre should also consider increasing the quota of the SCs,” he said.

He said a Comprehensive Household Survey conducted in Telangana six years ago had revealed that there were 10.03 million families in the state, of which 1.82 million families belong to the Scheduled Castes, accounting for 17.53% of the total families.

“The survey was six years old and the Dalit population in the state might have gone up substantially. Therefore, there is a need to increase the reservations for SCs in tune with the increase in their population,” KCR said.

Meanwhile, the Telangana Backward Classes Commission welcomed the resolution urging the Centre to take up caste-based census.

Commission chairman Vakulabharanam Krishnamohan said the demand for enumeration of OBCs across the country has been a long-pending one. Though the Centre took up the exercise in 2011, it did not disclose the details of the case-based census.

“Supreme Court, high courts of various states and OBC commissions in several states also suggested to the Centre to take up caste-wise census and enumerate the OBCs based on their socio-economic conditions,” Krishnamohan said.