Telangana’s BC caste survey is a national model, says Minister Ponnam Prabhakar

LatestPoliticsTelangana
By HNH Web Desk
BC caste survey

Hyderabad: Transport and BC Welfare Minister Ponnam Prabhakar has declared that Telangana’s caste-based survey of backward classes stands as a national model, asserting that it was conducted transparently and lawfully in line with the promise made by Rahul Gandhi during the Bharat Jodo Yatra.

Speaking to the media, the minister said that Rahul Gandhi’s call—“jitni abaadi utna hissedari”—reflected the demand for proportional representation based on actual social realities. Telangana, under the leadership of Chief Minister Revanth Reddy and Deputy CM Bhatti Vikramarka, initiated the BC caste survey without any legal obstructions, he said.

He highlighted that a dedicated BC Commission was established under the leadership of Busani Venkateshwara Rao, and nearly one lakh government employees were deployed to carry out the survey with complete transparency.

Ponnam Prabhakar criticised the BJP for its “consistent obstruction” of BC empowerment. He said that although Telangana had passed a law in both legislative houses to raise BC reservations to 42%, the bill was yet to be approved at the central level. “It’s now the responsibility of Telangana BJP leaders to ensure the Governor clears the bill and sends it to the President,” he stated.

Referring to developments in other states, he pointed out that the BJP-led Centre had a record of destabilising governments that attempted caste-based enumeration. “Maharashtra’s government was toppled soon after passing a resolution for BC caste data. In Bihar, the RJD-JD(U) government was brought down even before the caste report was tabled. In Jharkhand, CM Hemant Soren was jailed on false charges after announcing enhanced BC reservations,” he alleged.

“If BJP leader Laxman has doubts about our caste survey, we are ready to clarify them. Will you arrange a meeting with the Prime Minister? We have already briefed major BC organisations and intellectuals, and they have appreciated our initiative. But you’re trying to tie our hands and block the process,” he said.

The minister also questioned the BJP’s sincerity: “You claim to support BCs, but have never appointed a BC as party president, opposition leader in the Assembly, or floor leader in the Council. When it comes to top posts, you reserve them for other communities, and then cry crocodile tears for BCs.”

He said the community suffers most under BJP’s policies—be it price hikes, job cuts, or welfare slashes. “If you truly care about BCs, support initiatives that benefit them. Don’t sabotage bold, progressive decisions taken by the Telangana government,” he urged.

Calling on BJP leaders to back the 42% BC reservation bill, Ponnam said this would prove their sincerity toward the community. He added that Congress governments had historically given BCs representation in central institutions like IITs and IIMs—something the BJP could not claim.

He demanded that BJP leader Laxman retract his remarks on the caste survey, accusing the saffron party of filing an affidavit in the Supreme Court to oppose caste-based data. “When the Mandal Commission was brought in, you countered it with Kamandal politics,” he said, branding the BJP as a party of feudal upper-caste interests.

The minister called Telangana’s BC reservation law a “national benchmark” that had forced even the central government to reconsider a caste census. “The law passed here has made the entire country look towards Telangana. The BJP should stop delaying tactics and support justice for BCs.”

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