HYDERABAD, February 5: Former Minister and MLA Gangula Kamalakar, in a press meeting at Telangana Bhavan on Wednesday, strongly criticised the Congress government’s approach to the caste census and its handling of the BC population data. Kamalakar accused Congress of being inherently opposed to the BCs, and said that the caste census report presented in the Assembly yesterday was “bogus”.
He referred to the caste census in Bihar, which was dismissed by the Patna High Court, noting that the state’s attempt to conduct a survey through the Planning Department was also rejected in court. Kamalakar claimed that similar mistakes were made in Telangana, leading to discrepancies in the caste census. He argued that the Congress government had issued contradictory orders and failed to conduct an accurate survey.
In his remarks, Kamalakar highlighted that despite Telangana’s population growth, the BC population was underrepresented in the caste census, with approximately 40 lakh BCs omitted. He noted that Muslim populations were excluded, yet BCs still accounted for more than 56% of the state’s population, although only 46% was reflected in the census.
Further criticising the Congress government, Kamalakar warned that the caste census report could be overturned in court due to its inaccuracies, comparing the current government’s treatment of BCs to that of previous Congress administrations.
Kamalakar also demanded that the government conduct a re-survey of BCs, similar to the voter list process, and provide a fair and accurate count of the BC population. He suggested that the survey be completed within 15 days.
Praising former CM K. Chandrashekar Rao (KCR) for his consistent support of BCs, Kamalakar emphasised that KCR had worked for their welfare, establishing the BC Welfare Housing Scheme and sending BC representatives to the Rajya Sabha. He concluded by calling for transparency and an accurate representation of BC population figures in the state.
