In a special session of the Telangana Legislative Assembly on Tuesday, Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy responded to MIM floor leader Akbaruddin Owaisi’s demand to table the comprehensive Socio, Economic, Employment, Educational, Political, and Caste survey report. The Chief Minister expressed his readiness to make public the operative details of the survey but noted that legal constraints prevent the disclosure of the fourth volume, which contains personal data of individuals.

"The government is prepared to table three volumes of the survey, which include the methodology, resources used, and other operational aspects, once legal consent is obtained. However, the fourth volume, which contains individual data, cannot be shared due to data privacy regulations," said Chief Minister Revanth Reddy, addressing concerns raised by Owaisi and other members.

Owaisi had earlier questioned why the government was not tabling the report for discussion in the Assembly. "We hoped there would be a debate on the report. Why is the government avoiding tabling it?" he asked. The Chief Minister, in response, clarified that restrictions imposed by data privacy laws prevent the government from making individual-specific details public, as it involves a contractual agreement between the government and the individuals involved in the survey.

While Revanth Reddy assured that the government was prepared to share the operational details and engage in a comprehensive debate on the survey, he also noted that previous governments, including the BRS and Congress, had not made the details of intensive household surveys public either. He expressed confidence in the government's transparency in handling the survey’s findings.

The Chief Minister also criticized several BRS leaders, including party president and working president, as well as BJP MP D.K. Aruna, for not participating in the survey. He suggested that they would have to answer to the public, especially in their constituencies, regarding their absence from the survey process.

Talasani Srinivas Yadav, a BRS member, raised concerns about the survey’s 57-point questionnaire, claiming it deterred many people from participating, resulting in less than 30% of households being covered in GHMC limits. He also cited figures from the 2023 Assembly elections, highlighting a missing population, particularly those under six years and between six to 17 years old. Yadav emphasized that merely passing a resolution in the Assembly would not be enough to extend benefits to the deserving sections, urging the government to enhance legal sanctity for the survey process by enacting legislation that bolsters reservations for backward classes.

BJP member Payal Shankar voiced concerns about discrepancies between the claims made by senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and the survey process adopted in Telangana. He also pointed to a significant decline in the population of certain sections like backward classes. However, Revanth Reddy assured that the population of these groups had, in fact, increased, allaying the concerns raised by the BJP.

The debate in the Assembly highlighted the ongoing discussions surrounding the comprehensive household survey, with varying opinions on its methodology, data privacy, and its potential impact on the state’s policy-making process for marginalized communities. As the government prepares to share the operational aspects of the survey, the discussions are expected to continue in the coming weeks.