Hyderabad: Senior Congress leader and former MP V Hanumantha Rao on Tuesday said that Rahul Gandhi was the first to raise the demand for a caste census when no other national leader was willing to speak on it. Rao said Gandhi, despite belonging to an upper caste, had consistently advocated justice for Backward Classes, while Prime Minister Narendra Modi, though from a BC background, continued to avoid the issue.
Rao said he personally met Modi three times to request a separate ministry for BCs but received no response. He quoted Modi as saying that the BCs would not gain anything from a caste census, calling it a clear dismissal of the issue.
He demanded that the Centre carry out a caste census along with the general population enumeration. Rao said it was necessary not only to understand the real social composition of the country but also to ensure rightful allocation of benefits and representation.
He also called for the creation of a separate ministry for BCs at the national level, a long-pending demand that successive governments had failed to meet. Rao said BC MPs from Telangana should publicly support the demand, warning that if they remained silent, he would protest in front of their residences.
He praised the Telangana state government for initiating a caste-based survey and said it was a step toward delivering justice to BCs. He called on the Centre to follow suit and ensure BC communities receive their fair share based on empirical data.
సామాజిక న్యాయం కులగణనతోనే సాకారం
వి.హనుమంతరావు గారు – మాజీ ఎంపీ pic.twitter.com/y4cJEZDXTO
— Telangana Congress (@INCTelangana) June 17, 2025