Telangana caste survey a RARE model for India and Sonia's letter a Nobel prize: Revanth Reddy
Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy termed Telangana's Social, Economic, Educational, Employment, Political and Caste (SEEEPC) survey a 'Rare Model' for the country and the letter of Sonia Gandhi to him praising it as a 'Nobel prize and an Oscar' for him.
Mr. Reddy was speaking after presenting the survey findings to senior leaders of the Congress at a meeting at the AICC office in New Delhi on Thursday.
Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi termed it a 'historic milestone' and said that Mr. Reddy has set a benchmark for the nation.
The Chief Minister showcased 88,000 pages of data gathered from an unprecedented door-to-door survey, where the public self-certified their caste and other details. 'This is the first of its kind survey in India to comprehensively collect caste-linked data spanning education, employment, political representation, and social status,' Mr. Reddy said amidst applause from the Congress leadership.
The Chief Minister attributed the success to Mr. Gandhi and said that February 4, when the survey started last year, would be celebrated as Social Justice Day in Telangana.
Highlighting an interesting finding of the survey, Mr. Reddy said 3.9% of people self-identified as not belonging to any caste. This group was identified as highly educated and English-speaking individuals by an Expert Committee that studied the data scientifically.
Turning emotional, the Chief Minister showed a handwritten letter from Sonia Gandhi praising the survey and described it as 'more valuable than a Nobel or an Oscar,' and 'personal lifetime achievement.'
The survey revealed that BCs constitute 56.36% of the State's population. Based on these findings, the Telangana government passed two significant bills ensuring 42% reservation for BCs in both local bodies and in education and employment.
Criticising the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Chief Minister said that Mr. Gandhi made this possible unlike the BJP leaders who simply talk. He also targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying he was a 'legally converted BC' and would do nothing for the BCs.
He said Mr. Modi was forced to repeal the farm laws by Rahul Gandhi, and a similar stand was taken by the Prime Minister on caste survey once Rahul Gandhi stepped up the pressure.
Priyanka Gandhi said she was proud of Revanth Reddy for the achievement, and more so for having the political courage to do it. AICC President Mallikarjun Kharge, AICC General Secretary K.C. Venugopal, Deputy CM Bhatti Vikramarka, Ministers Uttam Kumar Reddy, Ponnam Prabhakar and TPCC president Mahesh Goud were among those present.
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