"His mentality is anti-BC": Telangana CM Revanth Reddy attacks PM Modi

Hyderabad (Telangana) [India], February 14 : Facing opposition criticism over "discrepancies" in the caste survey in the state, Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy on Thursday attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi, accusing him of "anti-BC" mentality and alleging that he is "legally converted BC".
Revanth Reddy made the remarks at an event at the Congress headquarters in Hyderabad.
"I want to tell you one thing: Modi says he belongs to BC (Backward Class). Modi is not BC. He is legally converted BC (Backward Class). In 2001, before becoming CM, his caste was among the Upper classes in Gujarat state. After becoming CM, he merged that caste into the Backward Class (BC). Narendra Modi was not born as BC; he was in the upper caste by birth. His certificate must be that of BC (Backward Class), but his mentality is anti-BC," Reddy said.
There has been a political uproar over the caste survey conducted by the Congress government in Telangana, with opposition parties alleging discrepancies.
However, Congress leaders have termed it as "scientific, transparent and accurate".
Telangana Irrigation and Civil Supplies Minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy said earlier this month that the caste-based socio-economic survey conducted by the Congress-led state government was the "most scientific, transparent, and accurate population study since Independence."
"This was the first-ever field-based caste survey undertaken after the 2011 Census, making all figures cited by opposition parties false and fictitious," the state's minister said.
The minister further emphasised that the government had ensured the highest level of accuracy in data collection.Reddy, who headed the cabinet sub-committee for the caste survey, underscored that no authentic caste-based data had been compiled in the past, particularly for Backward Classes (BCs), unlike previous studies, which were incomplete or unofficial, this was the first legitimate and detailed caste survey.
The minister rejected claims that similar surveys had been conducted earlier, pointing out that the Intensive Household Survey (IHS) 2014 was never made public by the previous BRS government and that even the KCR government did not endorse it as official data."
The survey involved two phases: a house-listing phase (November 6-8, 2024) to identify and register households, followed by the main data collection phase (November 9-December 25, 2024).
The Planning Department incorporated inputs from social scientists, policymakers, and various stakeholders, finalising a questionnaire covering 57 primary questions and 75 data fields. Real-time monitoring, daily updates, and twelve high-level review meetings ensured smooth execution, officials said.