Hyderabad: Union Minister for Coal and Mines G Kishan Reddy stated that the Central government does not require the skewed model of the Telangana caste census. The upcoming census enumeration will include the caste census, and it will be governed by the verdict of the Andhra Pradesh High Court.

During a media briefing on Thursday, he mentioned that an amendment to the Census Act of 1948 is necessary to include ‘caste’ as a parameter, and this will be addressed during the next Parliament session. He emphasised that the Centre will proceed with the census enumeration only after bringing about the relevant amendments.

Kishan Reddy accused the Congress party, Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy, and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi of spreading lies, stating that neither the Telugu people nor people of other parts of the country would trust them. He criticised both the Congress and the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) for not sincerely working for backward classes (BCs) and for failing to provide reservations.

This is despite their population being estimated at 42 per cent.

The Union Minister clarified that the caste census will not include Muslims in BCs under any circumstances. He dismissed the credibility of the caste census conducted in Telangana and Karnataka, referring to them as mere surveys related to castes. Commenting on the Telangana caste survey, he remarked that it is ridiculous to claim that the survey is complete when it has not reached even 50 per cent of the population.

The Union Minister accused the Congress of conspiring to include all Muslims in BC reservations, claiming that the party has historically divided people along religious lines and incited communal conflicts while pretending to care for SCs, STs, and BCs today. He recalled that the BJP submitted complete details to the Supreme Court to resolve the long-standing Madiga reservation issue, paving the way for SC categorization. Further, asserted that the NDA government is responsible for granting legal status to the National BC Commission in 2018, implementing 10 per cent of Economic Weaker Section (EWS) reservations and 33 per cent of reservations for women.

Kishan Reddy recalled BJP leader Sushma Swaraj writing to the then Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, indicating the party’s support for a caste census. He noted that during Dr Manmohan Singh’s tenure, a sub-committee was formed on the caste census. In 2011, the BJP once again supported the initiative. For the BJP, the caste census is viewed as a crucial tool for the social progress of all communities, designed to deliver social and economic benefits rather than for political motivations like those of the Congress, he added.