Hyderabad: Questioning the Congress government’s Caste Census results in Telangana seems to have backfired for the main opposition Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS). While the BRS has questioned the results, which put the Backward Class (BC) population (excluding Muslims) at about 46%, the party is also now facing questions over the Samagraha Kutumba (Intensive Household) Survey which was done in 2014 during the time of ex-chief minister K Chandrashekar Rao (KCR) and was never released.
The BRS has in the past also faced questions as to why it never released the Intensive Household Survey data, which it had used to formulate social welfare schemes. But since it was in power for two terms, it managed to never put the information out. Now, with the Caste Census by the incumbent Congress government out, it is to be seen if the ruling party will in fact release the Intensive Household Survey report as well to corner the BRS.
“The Intensive Household survey that we did was used for the formulation of welfare schemes under KCR. Now if you ask us why it was never revealed that he only tell you. But there is some data that is circulating in Whatsapp groups that is actually unreliable and untrue,” said a BRS leader. He however defended the Intensive Household survey done by KCR stating that after Telangana was formed in 2014, there was no detailed dataset available for the then state government since assets were shared with Andhra Pradesh.
In the data revealed earlier this month, the Caste Census done by the Congress, the Backward Classes (BC) percentage was found to be at 56%, including Backward Muslims which comprise 10% of the group. It is on that part that the Congress government in Telangana government has come under fire by the BRS, which has said that the BC population has decreased as it was earlier pegged at 51% (sans the Muslim population).
“The Intensive Household Survey data was never released. Only some people had access to it. The BRS data has put up the total population at 114% instead of 100%. It is now available,” said a senior advisor to the Telangana government. On the state’s Caste Census, he however had some reservations. “This is the first time that a caste survey was done after 1931. But in order to claim the 43% reservations for BC in local body polls, this is sufficient,” he told Siasat.com.
He added that the Telangana Caste Survey result can also be used to push for the central government to add case in the national census data. “Why did the BRS not release it if they really want to help BC groups. With this Caste Census now we know the actual socio-economic conditions of the BCs as well,” said the government advisor.
Telangana Caste Census findings
The findings of the Telangana caste survey revealed an astonishing 56.25 percent (1,99,85,767 people) of the state’s population belongs to the Backward Class. According to the survey, the Scheduled Castes (SCs) comprise 17.43 percent (61,84,319) and Scheduled Tribes of 10.45 per cent (37,05,929) of Telangana’s population.
Moreover, the caste survey revealed that 44,57,012 belonged to the Muslim community in Telangana, constituting 12.56 percent of the total population. Among them, 35,76,588 belong to the Backward Class (BC), amounting to 10.08 percent, while 2.48 percent are Other Castes (OC), with 8,80,424 individuals.
Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) spokesperson Syed Nizamuddin said that the Congress government “worked very sincerely” and lashed out against the BRS for questioning it. “They did a one day survey for the Intensive Household Survey and they made everyone come back and shut everything down. So where is the survey report? You should have kept it in the national information centre. Was it approved by the cabinet? KCR used it for political benefit,” he alleged.
