HYDERABAD, February 10: Nizamabad MP Dharmapuri Arvind has criticised the Telangana government for its handling of the caste census, alleging that the administration is leaking data before its official release. In a video shared on social media, Arvind questioned whether these leaks were orchestrated by Chief Minister Revanth Reddy or in collaboration with K. Chandrashekar Rao (KCR) and the Congress party. He expressed concern that members of his own party, the BJP, might be inadvertently falling into this trap.
Arvind challenged the Chief Minister to officially publish the caste census numbers, asserting that he could disprove them within hours. He emphasised that in politics, merit should take precedence over caste, citing KCR’s rise to Chief Minister despite his community constituting approximately 1% of the state’s population. Arvind argued that KCR was elected due to his efforts for Telangana’s statehood, but after a decade of governance, the public voted him out, dissatisfied with his administration.
The MP also scrutinised the Chief Minister’s recent assembly speech on the caste census, noting the omission of data on Christians. He questioned whether, according to Revanth Reddy’s figures, Christians are absent from the state’s demographics. Arvind highlighted discrepancies between the state’s reported total population and the number of registered voters, pointing out that while there are approximately 19-20 lakh non-voters, the government’s website indicates that there are 39 lakh children aged 0-6 years.
Arvind concluded by asserting that discussions about caste should have no place within the BJP, advocating for a focus on national identity and unity. He urged party leadership to discourage any caste-based discourse among its members.
