Updated October 8th, 2021 at 17:55 IST
Telangana Assembly passes resolution seeking caste-based census after Centre's refusal
The Telangana assembly wants the central government to conduct the caste census to enumerate the population of the backward classes in the state.
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In a bid to push for the caste-based census, the Telangana assembly on Friday unanimously passed a resolution seeking the Centre to take a caste-based census in the country. This comes after the central government ruled out the possibility of conducting a caste-based census this year during a hearing in the Supreme court.
The Telangana assembly wants the central government to conduct the caste census to enumerate the population of the backward classes in the state. Hence, they have passed a resolution against the centre's disapproval of the census along with the population census scheduled for this year.
Telangana Assembly passes resolution seeking caste census
State Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao had introduced the resolution in the Assembly after the question hour and the resolution was passed in the assembly without any opposition. Speaking on the bill, Rao said that nearly 50% of the state population constitutes of people from backward classes and that the Telangana govt wants to determine the same through the census.
He further added that it was important for the state government to know the accurate statistics for taking required measures for the upliftment of the poor sections of the society.
Opposition unites on caste census
Several political parties have earlier reached out to the central government and had demanded the conduct of the caste-based census. Taking up the issue, a Bihar delegation led by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar along with RJD opposition leader Tejashwi Yadav, met Prime Minister Narendra Modi to convince the government to conduct the census.
The demand was raised by former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister and Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav along with other opposition leaders. Moreover, some BJP allies have also asserted the demand for a caste-based census, as it has not been done in several years.
Centre denies, says conducting caste survey not feasible
However, while replying to a plea in the Supreme court, the Centre in its response, had dismissed the possibility of conducting the caste survey along with the population census. The Centre, in an affidavit filed on September 21, said that the population census is not the right instrument to conduct the caste-based census.
The Union Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment had argued in the court that it is not feasible to collect information on the Backward Class of Citizens (BCC) in the upcoming census.
Image: PTI
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Published October 8th, 2021 at 17:55 IST
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