V. Hanumantha Rao demands BC caste census, backs Rahul Gandhi’s call for OBC count
Hyderabad: Government adviser V. Hanumantha Rao demanded a BC caste census and supported Rahul Gandhi’s call for an OBC count in the national census.
Hanumantha Rao made the remarks while extending Ganesh Chaturthi greetings to people across the Telugu states. He said he had prayed to Lord Ganesha for Rahul Gandhi to become Prime Minister.
He also said he had prayed for jobs for the state’s youth and urged Lord Ganesha to help them escape the “poisonous cycle” of unemployment.
Hanumantha Rao then criticised the Centre over caste enumeration and reservations. He alleged that the national census did not include any provision to count backward classes.
He said the Centre’s approach had denied justice to BCs along with SCs and STs. Rahul Gandhi had demanded a separate BC count, but Prime Minister Narendra Modi had ignored the demand, Hanumantha Rao alleged.
He further accused Modi of fearing that a BC count would benefit Rahul Gandhi politically. Hanumantha Rao demanded that the BC caste census form part of the national census exercise.
BC caste census preceded 42% BC reservation in Telangana
Hanumantha Rao said Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy had earned a place in history by conducting a caste census in the state.
He said the state Cabinet approved the BC caste census soon after the Congress government assumed office. The government later counted the BC population and granted BCs 42 per cent reservation in local elections, he said.
AICC OBC chairman Mukhul Yadav also criticised the exclusion of OBCs from the census. He described the omission as unjust and pledged to continue the campaign until the national census included an OBC column.
Yadav said he would visit every district over 100 days to raise awareness about the alleged injustice facing OBC communities.
He also recalled an incident in Vallala village in 1948. Yadav said Nizam police shot dead 10 young men after they hoisted the national flag.
Yadav said the authorities would inaugurate statues of the martyrs in Vallala village on September 17 during Telangana Liberation Day observances.