Prime Minister Narendra Modi bid an official farewell to Deputy Chief Minister Bhatti Vikramarka along with ministers Ponnam Prabhakar and Mohammad Azharuddin at Begumpet Airport on Sunday evening as he flew to Gujarat after completing his hectic tour of Hyderabad.
Before the Prime Minister boarded the special flight, the Deputy CM and Ministers presented a statement to the Prime Minister urging the inclusion of Backward Classes (BC) in the ongoing national census. They pointed out that the current census framework does not provide BC caste data as per column 13 of the household schedule and requested that this be corrected to ensure accurate representation.
Chairman of the Protocol Harkara Venugopal also joined the delegation in presenting the memorandum. Leaders emphasized that caste-based data is critical to policy-making, welfare systems and equitable distribution of resources, and asked the Premier to intervene to ensure BC communities are adequately counted in the census.
The call comes at a time when the enumeration caste debate has gained national momentum, with several states pushing for comprehensive data to strengthen social justice measures. The Telangana leadership joined the demand and emphasized the need for accurate statistics to guide future development and welfare initiatives.
Published – 10 May 2026 21:08 IST
