BRS' K Kavitha "heartily welcomes" Centre's decision on caste census, says "want it to be conducted scientifically"

Hyderabad (Telangana) [India], May 1 (ANI): Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) MLC K Kavitha on Thursday 'heartily' welcomed the central government's decision to include a caste-based census in the upcoming census. She also urged Central government to carry out the caste census in a transparent manner using latest technology.
"We welcome the Centre's move to conduct caste census across the country. This has been a long-standing demand. In 2011, the then Congress government attempted to conduct a caste census, but for unknown reasons, the data was withheld. I am happy the central government has announced it. This is because our country has a census for everything, from tigers and sheep, but did not have one for people. Now that they have announced it, it is good," BRS MLC Kavitha told told ANI.
The BRS leader hit out at Telangana government for not conducting the caste census in the state properly. She claimed that the caste census in the state was conducted in a 'flawed' way and urged the centre not to follow the state government's model.
"We want it to be conducted scientifically and make use of technology. A caste census was conducted in Telangana, but it was not transparent. Many people have claimed that the caste census was not conducted properly. CM Revanth Reddy claimed to have done a great census, which is utterly false. He failed the people of Telangana in doing the census. I hope the central government does not follow the Telangana model this time, as it is flawed," Kavitha further said.
She added, "We demand that the Centre come up with a transparent list of population---statewise, castewise, community-wise. It should be displayed openly. It is a crucial step in terms of progress, based on this data. When discussing the allocation of budget or educational opportunities that should be provided, it should be properly framed. I heartfully welcome this move by the central government..."
Meanwhile, Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy welcomed the Central government's decision to conduct a caste census and urged the Union Government to establish a group of ministers and a committee of experts to study how different states have conducted their own censuses and conduct a detailed study for a nationwide caste census.
CM Reddy said, "Under pressure, today, the central government has taken this decision. We won't do politics at this point. We welcome this decision under the leadership of PM Modi...we request that if they want to conduct a caste census, they should constitute a committee of union cabinet ministers and then an expert committee and conduct a study."
Earlier in the day, Congress workers in Hyderabad celebrated and showered milk over the posters of the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha and party MP Rahul Gandhi, along with Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy, as a gesture of reverence and gratitude after the Centre announced that the forthcoming population census will include a caste census.
On Wednesday, Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, while announcing the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs' decision, highlighted concerns about the transparency and intent of some states' own caste censuses, claiming that some censuses were conducted "purely from a political angle."
"While some states have conducted surveys to enumerate castes, these surveys have varied in transparency and intent, with some conducted purely from a political angle, creating doubts in society. Considering all these circumstances, and to ensure that our social fabric does not come under political pressure, it has been decided that caste enumeration should be included in the main census instead of being conducted as a separate survey," Vaishnaw said.
Bihar, Karnataka and Telangana have already conducted a caste census in their respective state. Telangana has also implemented a 42 per cent backwards class reservation for people in the state. (ANI)