Telangana Assembly urges Centre to conduct caste-wise census of BCs in 2021

Hyderabad: The Telangana Assembly on Friday unanimously adopted a resolution, urging the Centre to take up caste-wise census of the Backward Classes in the general census for 2021 to facilitate their upliftment.

Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, who moved the resolution, said various assemblies and political parties in the country have been urging the Centre to take up this census.

Observing that Backward Classes constitute up to 50 per cent of Telangana's population, he said there is a general view in the state that justice should be ensured to the BCs in various fields.

"In view of the upliftment of poorer sections of society, it is necessary to maintain accurate statistics for taking up various welfare measures for benefiting the poorest of the poor," Rao said, moving the resolution. Citing various provisions of the Constitution regarding the Backward Class of citizens, he said... "the assembly urges the Central government that a caste-wise census of the backward class of citizens be conducted while holding the general census for 2021." Speaker Pocharam Srinivasa Reddy announced that the resolution was adopted unanimously.

Rao on October 5 supported the demand of caste census of Backward Classes and favoured the Assembly passing a resolution on the demand and sending it to the Centre, which has maintained that it is an "administratively difficult and cumbersome exercise."

The Centre on September 23 informed the Supreme Court that conducting caste census of Backward Classes is "administratively difficult and cumbersome" and called exclusion of such information from the purview of the census a 'conscious policy decision."

In its affidavit in the apex court, the government said that caste enumeration in Socio Economic and Caste Census (SECC) 2011 was 'fraught" with mistakes and inaccuracies.