Posted by: Published Date – Sat, 19 Nov 22 at 06:48 PM
go through Anil Kumar
Hyderabad: The purpose of the caste census is not limited to the reserved land question, it can actually bring more questions to the fore like information on dispossessed people or the type of occupation they have, which in turn will make Telangana a backward class Committee chairman Vakulabharanam Krishna Mohan Rao believes that policy makers need to prepare comprehensive policies for them.
Rao, expressing serious concern over the way Narendra Modi’s government is trying to delay the caste census, said the only apparent known proposal made by the Center for them was for the OBC committee to be given equal constitutional status to the SC/ST committee.
In an interaction with Anil Kumar, Krishna Mohan Rao sheds light on the various issues faced by people belonging to the Other Backward Class (OBC) community, and the growing demand for caste censuses.
Q: Why do you think the center delayed the caste census?
Answer: I don’t know. Although 15 states, including Telangana, have passed a resolution in their respective state assemblies calling for a central caste census, the Modi government has remained silent. The then Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh promised in 2018 to conduct a caste census in 2021, but the government failed to do so. We were expecting a statement from the Center on this, however, recently Federal Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai told Parliament that there was no such proposal.
Socio-economic and caste census was conducted and implemented by the UPA government in 2011. In 2016, the Standing Committee of the Rural Development Parliament claimed that the data had been checked and that 98.87% of the data on individual caste and religion was error-free.
However, the NDA government told the Supreme Court and Parliament in 2018 that caste census data was flawed and could not be released. This clearly shows the BJP’s mindset and approach to the BC population.
Q: What is required for the OBC Census?
Answer: Census counts every Indian citizen but unlike SC/ST, other castes are combined with other castes and reported in aggregate. Therefore, there are no accurate data on their actual population size. Through the caste census, the actual population size of the OBC can be determined and welfare measures and other benefits can be planned accordingly.
Q: How high is the demand for a separate OBC Benefits Department?
A: I wrote an open letter to Prime Minister Modi in October explaining to him the need to create a separate ministry for the OBC. However, so far I have not received any information from the PMO. In 2004, Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao, then union minister, mobilized BC leaders from Telangana and organized talks with then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and asked him to create a separate ministry for OBC. The Chief Minister is still pursuing the matter with the Centre.
Q: What has the Telangana government done for the OBC?
A. After the establishment of Telangana, the Chief Minister established the Most Backward Development Corporation and allocated a budget of Rs. 10 billion to carry out various welfare activities. The government of Telangana spends around Rs 40,000 crore annually on programs for BC. CM also organized a meeting of entrepreneurs and industrialists belonging to the BC community and pledged various assistance from his government.
