Hyderabad: The state govt is willing to correct any anomalies in the Socio-Economic, Education, Employment, Political and Caste (SEEEPC) Survey-2024 and ensure social justice for all communities, chief minister A Revanth Reddy said on Thursday, inviting caste associations that dispute the survey findings to submit data supporting their population claims.He announced that the govt would reconstitute a cabinet sub-committee to examine the issue and the cabinet will discuss the issue in the next meeting.“Elders and caste associations of Gouds, Mudirajs, Gangaputra, Yadavs and even Padmashalis have made claims over their population figures and contradicted the SEEEPC survey. The state govt has an open mind on this. Our intention is not to reduce the number of castes. Even my community (Reddy) people have doubts about the 25 lakh figure. We can rectify any anomalies or mistakes in population and include in the caste census, and social justice will be delivered to all castes,” Revanth said.The chief minister said the govt would seek reports from officials and consult legal experts before taking a final view on the matter. He added that the long-pending demand for reclassification of the Mudiraj community from the BC-D category to BC-A could not be considered so far because of the lack of accurate population data and that the reconstituted sub-committee would also examine the issue.Addressing the birth anniversary celebrations of Pandaga Sayanna Mudiraj, Revanth said the govt had earlier constituted a cabinet sub-committee headed by minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy and would now expand it by including ministers such as Ponnam Prabhakar and Vakiti Srihari. He also announced that statues of Doddi Komaraiah and Pandaga Sayanna would be installed on Tank Bund.Seeking to reassure Backward Class communities, the chief minister said the Congress govt is committed to their political empowerment and adequate representation. “It is my responsibility to ensure the Mudiraj community is made a partner in the govt,” he said.Shifting to national politics, Revanth described the next general election as crucial for the country and appealed for support to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi. He said the interests of the country’s Bahujan communities would be better protected if Rahul Gandhi becomes Prime Minister.He said the administration is strengthening the existing welfare programmes. “We are already doubling the welfare initiatives undertaken by the previous govt and building Indiramma houses in every village. The welfare schemes launched by NTR, Chandrababu Naidu, YSR and KCR are being continued,” he claimed.He said that while NTR had introduced Rs 2-a-kg rice, the present govt is supplying fine rice to 3.48 crore beneficiaries. Revanth said the govt had also taken steps to strengthen Telangana’s distinct identity, including officially adopting a state song after the formation of Telangana.
