Congress leader Anil Kumar Yadav along with other party workers on Wednesday offered milk on the poster of Rahul Gandhi in Hyderabad as the caste census began in Telangana.
Caste census in Telangana
The Telangana government’s comprehensive socio-economic, employment, political and caste survey, an election promise of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, began on Wednesday. Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy described the survey as a ‘yajna’ to achieve social justice for the oppressed classes and equality of opportunities.
The massive exercise that began on Telangana soil is an “adventure” that will change the country’s social outlook under Rahul Gandhi’s leadership, he said on ‘X’.
Official sources said house listing would be carried out in the first phase of the survey from November 6 to 8 in every enumeration block followed by household survey from November 9 in the second phase.
Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka said as many as 94,750 enumerators and 9,478 supervisors have been selected across the state. Each enumerator would cover 150 households.
Training has been given to both the enumerators and supervisors, he said.
Observing that the survey aims at realising the goals of equality of opportunities and social justice as mentioned in the Constitution, he appealed to the citizens to furnish information to the enumerators for the “noble cause”.
“This caste survey is to understand the various sections of society, what is their political, economical, social status, and whether they are able to receive the resources, opportunities other things equally or not,” he told reporters.
“Once the entire survey is done, we would be able to understand if the wealth of the state, power of the state and other revenues are equally accessible to the people or not,” he said.
The survey collects information on households with 56 main questions and 19 supplementary questions.
The queries in the survey relate to religion, caste, marital status, educational qualifications, work, annual income etc. of the members of the household.
One of the questions is whether the members of the family are able to visit the local temples/mosques/churches/other places of worship freely without any discrimination and threat.
Rahul Gandhi on the caste census
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday once again advocated for a caste census, saying the exercise will happen in the country and it will show the injustice meted out to Dalits, OBCs and Adivasis. The true meaning of a caste census is justice, he said, adding that his party will also “break the wall of 50 per cent” reservation limit.
Addressing the Samvidhan Samman Sammelan in Nagpur ahead of the November 20 Maharashtra assembly elections, the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha hit out at the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), accusing them of attacking the Constitution and thereby attacking the “voice of the country”.
“Caste census will give justice to general (category), Dalits, Adivasis, minorities, women and all others,” he said. “Caste census will make everything clear. Everyone will come to know how much power they wield and what our role is,” he said, adding,” We will also break the 50 per cent wall.” The Constitution drafted by Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar is not just a book but a way of life and philosophy of life. Likewise, caste census is a paradigm of development, he said. “It will bring clarity and a new paradigm. Hence, BJP and RSS are discussing what position they should take and what they should say on caste census, Gandhi added.
“I want to tell you that whatever you do, the caste census will happen. Do whatever discussion you want to do on it or is projected in the media, the people of India have decided that caste census will happen and the wall of 50 per cent will be broken. And this voice is slowly increasing. Our work is that of amplification and to make people understand that caste census will save the Constitution,” he said.
Targeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he said, “Whenever I talk about caste census, Modi ji says that Rahul Gandhi is trying to divide the nation. We have to tell the country that we are fighting to secure justice for over 90 per cent marginalised people in the country.”
(With agency inputs)
