Revanth to Centre: Form GoM, expert panel for caste census
Hyderabad: Chief minister A
Revanth Reddy
has urged the Centre to constitute a
Group of Ministers
(GoM) and an experts committee for
caste census
across the country. He also appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to set a clear timeframe to complete the exercise, preferably within a year.
Welcoming the Centre's decision to include caste data in the next census, Revanth thanked the PM and emphasised that the
Telangana
govt was ready to cooperate, offering insights from its own caste survey without seeking political mileage. He said Telangana has become a role model in conducting such surveys.
"The GoM and experts committee should be constituted separately to visit various states and hold consultations with political parties, stakeholders, and civil society on the caste census," Revanth said at a press conference at his Jubilee Hills residence on Thursday.
He explained that Telangana's GoM and experts committee had visited every district, interacted with stakeholders, and collected representations from the public during its caste survey.
Sponsored Links
Sponsored Links
Promoted Links
Promoted Links
You May Like
Cost Of Amusement Park Equipment From Mexico Might Surprise You - See Tips
Amusement Park Equipment | search ads
Click Here
Undo
Highlighting regional variations in caste classification, the CM said the experts committee must consider state-wise differences. "For instance, the Boya community is classified as OBC in Telangana but as ST in Karnataka. Similarly, Lambadas are tribals in Telangana but considered OBC in Maharashtra. There needs to be a consensus on these differences," he said.
When asked if the Centre's move was politically motivated, particularly in light of the Bihar elections, Revanth refrained from making direct allegations. "I do not want to get into political accusations, especially when the move benefits people. But it's clear that the BJP govt was compelled to act," he said.
He credited Rahul Gandhi for initiating the talk around caste census, asserting that the Congress leader promised a caste survey in Telangana and fulfilled the promise. "The credit goes to Rahul Gandhi," he added.
The CM said the state govt has already submitted its report to the Centre. "If needed, an official delegation is ready to go to Delhi to make a Power-Point presentation," he said.
On whether the Centre's caste census data would override Telangana's findings, Revanth clarified, "Central data prevails. However, Telangana's survey was carried out systematically and scientifically, with a GoM and experts committee guiding the process."
He detailed the scale of the Telangana survey stating that 57 questions, spanning eight pages, were asked, with 95,000 enumerators covering every household in the state within 90 days. The process was supervised by top govt officials and the state-level GoM. "Telangana has shown the way. This is a historic exercise pending for nearly 100 years," the CM claimed.
Commenting on the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Revanth claimed that the Congress had warned the public about the BJP's alleged intent to remove reservations and alter the Constitution. "The people didn't give the BJP a clear majority. With only 240 seats, their plans have been stalled," he said.
He also questioned why BJP-ruled states undertook caste surveys if the BJP opposed them. "The BJP has been in power for 11 years and governs 16–17 states. Why were caste surveys conducted only recently," he wondered.
Revanth said the BJP, despite its initial opposition, had been forced to support caste census due to Congress's pressure. He recalled the Congress-led protest at Jantar Mantar, where leaders from most parties participated, except the NDA allies.
Regarding the stalling of 'Operation Kagar' in Chhattisgarh, the CM said: "There is no place for violence in a civilised society. The party believes in dialogue with Maoists, and a policy decision will be taken soon."
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New Indian Express
an hour ago
- New Indian Express
'Inconvenient data brushed aside': Congress slams Centre over World Bank's extreme poverty data
NEW DELHI: The Modi government is celebrating a drop in extreme poverty to 5.3% but this is based on a poverty line of USD 3 per day which is certainly not enough to live with dignity, the Congress said on Tuesday and accused the Centre of brushing aside "inconvenient data." The opposition party's assertion came after the World Bank said India's extreme poverty rate declined sharply to 5.3 percent over a decade from 27.1 percent in 2011-12. The World Bank revised upwards its threshold poverty line to USD 3 per day. Congress' media and publicity department head Pawan Khera said, "The Modi government is celebrating a drop in extreme poverty to 5.3%. But this is based on a poverty line of USD 3 (Rs 250) per day - just enough to avoid starvation, but certainly not enough to live with dignity." The 2022-23 Consumption Expenditure Survey, conducted after an 11-year gap, came with a revised methodology – making direct comparisons with the UPA-era data appear favourable, but statistically invalid, Khera said. "The 2017-18 survey was buried, likely to hide the fallout of demonetisation and GST. COVID-era poverty? Ignored," he said. Meanwhile, the Modi government evaded Parliament on defining an official poverty line and ignored over 15 questions related to it, Khera claimed. "Their claim of lifting over 25 crore people out of poverty is based on a manipulated index. CMIE data shows 621 million Indians (44%) still live in poverty. On the Global Hunger Index, India ranks 105th, with 18.7% child wasting and 35.5% stunting," Khera said. He pointed out that on the World Happiness Report, India sits at 118th, and on the Human Development Index, India loses over 30% of its score due to inequality. "All this is inconvenient data. So, it is brushed aside. In the end, the poor are left to endure inflation, unemployment, a steady collapse of public services and declining quality of life while the ruling party's crony capitalist friends loot thousands of crores with absolute impunity," Khera said. "This is the story of two India: One that suffers, and the other that cashes in," he added. The World Bank, in a report, said given India's inflation rate between 2017 and 2021, a revised extreme poverty line of USD 3 would constitute a 15 percent higher threshold than USD 2.15 expressed in 2021 prices and result in a 5.3 percent poverty rate in 2022-23. As against 34 crore people below poverty line (USD 3/per day) in 2011-12, the numbers have come down to 7.5 crore in 2022-23 in absolute numbers. The World Bank has announced a major revision to global poverty estimates, raising the International Poverty Line (IPL) from USD 2.15/day (2017 PPP) to USD 3/day (2021 PPP), according to a factsheet issued by the Press Information Bureau (PIB) on the report. "While the change led to a global increase in the count of extreme poverty by 125 million, India emerged as a statistical outlier in a positive direction. Using more refined data and updated survey methods, India not only withstood the raised threshold but also demonstrated a massive reduction in poverty," the PIB said in its factsheet details issued on Saturday.
Hindustan Times
4 hours ago
- Hindustan Times
MHA officials meet Kuki-Zo insurgent group members
The ministry of home affairs (MHA) officials on Monday held a meeting with representatives of the Kuki-Zo insurgent groups, which are currently under the Suspension of Operation (SoO) pact with the Centre, over the renewal of the SoO agreement. While the government is yet to comment on the details of the meeting, people aware of the matter, said MHA officials insisted on ensuring there is no hindrance from SoO groups on the free movement of people across the state and relocation of the camps from certain civilian areas, while the SoO groups insisted on new ground rules before the Centre renews the cessation of hostilities pact. Senior security force officers in Manipur maintained that the SoO groups wield influence over almost everything in the hill areas, where the Kuki-Zo people live, including their elected representatives. The meeting on Monday was significant because it was the first meeting held between government and SoO groups since the pact was put in abeyance last year. The MHA and the SoO group representatives have agreed to finalise a date within the next one week for the second meeting. 'There were five representatives from the two umbrella organisations KNO and UPF that are under SoO. The MHA side was represented by Northeast interlocutor AK Mishra and IB officials, including state's IB chief, a joint director rank officer. The ground rules need to be revisited and put on paper because a lot has changed since the SoO pact was signed in 2008. Before SoO is renewed, these rules must be formalised and put on paper. Both parties have to agree for its renewal. The second meeting will be held soon,' a person aware of the meeting said. The SoO agreement was signed by the Centre and the Manipur government with the insurgent groups in August 2008 and was being renewed every year until February 28, 2024 when the renewal process was kept in abeyance. The SoO was kept in abeyance by the Centre following allegations of SoO group cadres indulging in Manipur's ethnic clashes or providing training to the village defence volunteers, a charge that groups have denied vehemently. While former chief minister Biren Singh and other MLAs have demanded that the SoO pact be cancelled, Kuki-Zo groups and their legislators have requested Centre to renew the pact. There are around 1,500-2,000 insurgents from the SoO in different camps across the state. Their weapons are kept locked in a room within each camp under a double lock system - one key with them and the other with the government. Under the SoO Pact, the insurgent groups have agreed to stop any form of violence including attacks on security forces. The Centre and the state too signed that no force (army, paramilitary, state police) would launch operations against the signatories as long as they abide by the terms of the agreement. Meitei groups have accused SoO of being involved in the ethnic clashes, a charge that the representatives of the SoO groups deny.
Hindustan Times
4 hours ago
- Hindustan Times
Speedy clearance expected in Sawalkote hydro project
The Union government is looking to give speedy clearance to a ₹22,700-crore hydropower project in Sawalkote on the Chenab so that work can commence by next year and the power ministry is on track to decide which agency should build it, two officials aware of the development said. The Sawalkote project, among four proposed hydroelectric projects in Jammu and Kashmir, has been granted the status of a nationally important project and is expected to generate 1,856 megawatts (MW) of electricity, one of the officials said. The four projects, which together can produce 3,119 MW of electricity, have been hobbled by long administrative delays as well as due to restrictions imposed by the Indus Waters Treaty, which India decided to put on hold a day after the deadly terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam on April 22 that claimed 26 lives. Apart from power, the Sawalkote dam, a so-called run-of-the-river project, will also bring irrigation potential to large agricultural tracts, a second official said, adding it will come up in the Ramban, Batote, Mahore and Udhampur forest divisions abutting the Raman, Reasi and Udhampur districts of the Union territory. The detailed project report or DPR for the dam has been prepared by the National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC) Ltd, the country's largest state-backed hydropower firm. The government is examining which agency should be tasked with the project. 'The Jammu and Kashmir government has expressed a desire to be involved in the construction of the project and build it either through one of its own power companies or through a joint venture. A decision will be taken soon,' the first official said. India has quickened processes to start work on proposed infrastructure on the Indus River system as well as speed up work on existing ones after pulling out of the 1960 water-sharing pact amid a freeze in ties following the Pahalgam terror attack. In 2021, the forest department of Jammu and Kashmir had recommended environmental clearance along with 'justifications', which had formally rolled out the process of preliminary work for the Sawalkote project, including recommendation of the catchment area plan. The Centre is likely to give a go-ahead soon for the stage I of the two-phased project after issues of picking the agency and reviewing Jammu and Kashmir's demand for a role through a joint venture are settled. The Union territory is keen on getting on board because the project will then create a revenue source for it, the second official said. 'Now that India has put the Indus treaty in abeyance, the country has no obligations under the treaty and it is free to create infrastructure in the Indus rivers on the Indian side,' said Shashi Shekhar, a former Union water resources secretary. Shekhar, as the top water resources bureaucrat then, had recommended the Centre suspend the treaty in 2016, when terrorists had attacked an Indian army base in Kashmir's Uri, killing 18 soldiers. Prior to keeping the water-sharing pact in abeyance following the Pahalgam terror attack, India had been pressing Pakistan to renegotiate the treaty, citing natural changes in the Indus river basin itself, which had diminished India's share amid a rising population. Under the treaty, the ratio of water shared by Pakistan and India stood at 80:20. India had sought a revision in the terms of the treaty bilaterally. According to the Indian side, Pakistan ignored pleas for bilateral renegotiation, and instead moved the World Bank for appointing a neutral expert to address the issues. India then accepted a neutral expert appointed by the World Bank, which had brokered the six-decade-old treaty by formulating its technical aspects, according to the Indian side. However, Pakistan then moved for international arbitration, a step India considers was a serious escalation by Islamabad, without exhausting all available options, according to Indian officials. Since India's decision to suspend the treaty, Pakistan has written four letters to Indian authorities, offering to discuss specific issues, HT had reported last week. India and Pakistan have fought four wars but the treaty had never been paused before. In letters sent to India, Pakistani authorities are learnt to have said that India didn't have powers to unilaterally suspend the treaty and called for resumption of negotiations. In an international conference on glaciers in Dushanbe on May 30, Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had raked up the treaty, accusing India of 'weaponising water'.
