The Congress government in Telangana has claimed to have conducted a caste census, and promised to bring a bill to enhance backward classes reservation to 42 per cent.

BJP MP Eatala Rajender, who hails from the backward classes and is a contender for the post of the state party president, spoke to The Statesman’s Anindita Chowdhury on the fallacies of this much-publicized caste census, and why Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s demand for a nationwide caste census was not feasible.

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Rajender is the Member of Parliament from Malkajgiri Lok Sabha constituency. He had served as the first finance minister of Telangana from 2014 to 2018 and as the state health minister from 2019 to 2021.

Q. Will the Congress reap any political benefit from the caste census and enhanced BC (backward classes) reservation in Telangana?

A. Nothing will come out of this exercise. On the contrary, it is going to boomerang on the Congress. There is no legal sanctity for this caste census. The state government should have done it through a dedicated commission in a time-bound manner. All findings mentioned in their report are also wrong. All the figures have gone up – for Scheduled Castes, it has gone up from 15 to 17 per cent; Scheduled Tribes from 9 to 10.6 per cent, and the numbers for forward castes also increased but only the OBC (other backward class) numbers have gone down. Now, they have ordered a re-survey which shows that they have accepted the follies. But the Congress claims this exercise will pave the way for a nationwide caste census. The caste census cannot be a national agenda. A nationwide caste census cannot be done. This is because it varies from state to state. For instance, the washermen community is considered a Scheduled Caste in Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh, but they are counted among the backward classes in Telangana. Reddy and Kammas are the forward castes in Andhra Pradesh, but they are BCs in Karnataka. Similarly, Rajputs are among forward castes in north India but here, in Telangana, they are called Bundelis and counted among the BCs. So, a nationwide caste census is simply not feasible. The Congress should have walked on the path of the Tamil Nadu government which had first formed a commission to enhance reservation. The caste census done by the Telangana government has no legal sanctity and will be struck down eventually.

Q. So, Rahul Gandhi’s demand for a nationwide caste census cannot be implemented?

A. This is nothing but a shortsighted political agenda. This demand stems from election-oriented and power-oriented politics. The Congress wants to come to power by cobbling together some percentage of the Muslim votes along with small percentages of Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribes, and the Backward Classes votes. Just like what (Samajwadi Party chief) Akhilesh Yadav does in Uttar Pradesh. This has nothing to do with the development of the nation. (Narendra) Modiji does not believe in such narrow and short-sighted matters, he just looks out for long-term development of the country.

Q. You were a minister in the KCR government. What is your assessment about Revanth Reddy’s government compared to the previous BRS government?

A. KCR’s regime was totally “family rule”. And he was autocratic. Moreover, during the final days, there was corruption and also, he did not fulfil the promises made during the Telangana movement. Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy was anti-KCR and aggressive and that is why people voted for him. But people have realized within a short time that this is not a competent (kaamwala sarkar) government but indulges in tall talks (baatonwala sarkar). There is neither vision nor coordination. A chief minister is the driving force of a government but this chief minister is a greenhorn. Now there is a groundswell of support for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Q. It seems it is the BRS that is fighting tooth and nail against the Congress government. Why is this perception that the BJP is distant from the issues that matter to the people?

A. People of Telangana have started thinking that they have already seen KCR’s (K Chandrasekhar Rao) 10 year-rule, and are witnessing the Congress rule. Now they are recalling that during (Atal Bihari) Vajpayee’s time, Andhra Pradesh (as the unified state) had benefited so much when Chandrababu Naidu was the chief minister. Again, under Naidu post-2014, Andhra Pradesh (residual state) benefitted so much though he left NDA at the end. However, Telangana was left behind only because of KCR’s ‘ahankar’(ego) and anti-Modi stance. Now again Andhra is reaping benefits with Naidu and Modiji at the helm so the people of Telangana realize beyond doubt the benefits of a double-engine sarkar.

Q. What is your comment on allegations by the BRS and Congress that Telangana did not get anything in the Union Budget despite having eight BJP MPs?

A. Union budgets are never made for individual states just as state budgets are not meant for districts. The benefits of the development of railways and national highway networks are for the entire nation. Telangana too will benefit from this inclusive development. Our prime minister is a former chief minister and he is, therefore, well aware of the problem areas. He is aware that only the development of states will lead to the development of a nation.