Caste Census: CM tells officials to constitute ‘dedicated commission’

Hyderabad: In the wake of High Court orders, Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy directed the officials to constitute a ‘dedicated commission’ for conducting empirical inquiry over reservations for Backward Classes in local bodies. The Government Orders in this regard are likely to be released on Monday.

The Chief Minister, who chaired a review meeting at his residence in Jubilee Hills on caste census, instructed the officials to expedite the process of constitution of the exclusive commission and take necessary steps in this direction to ensure it gets materialised by Monday. During the meeting attended by the Cabinet Sub-committee on Backward Classes, he emphasised that this commission should follow the direction given by the High Court and Supreme Court so that to ensure the survey is conducted without any legal hurdles. He asserted that the State government remained committed and would not compromise about conducting the caste census. It may be mentioned here that on October 31, the Telangana High Court directed the State government to constitute a ‘Dedicated Commission’ in place of ‘Backward Classes Commission’. It was observed that entrusting the work of gathering empirical data to the State Commission for Backward Classes was contrary to the judgment of the Supreme Court. This direction was passed by the Court while hearing a writ petition filed by former MP and BC leader R Krishnaiah.