New Delhi: The Left government has given a clear indication that it is not ready to conduct a caste census in Kerala and expressed its stand in the Supreme Court. The Chief Secretary Dr. V. Venu stated in the Supreme Court.
The affidavit of the Chief Secretary is in the contempt petition filed by the Minority Indians Planning and Vigilance Commission Trust. The organization complained that no action was taken even after the deadline for completing the socio-economic survey to revise the list of backward classes eligible for reservation.
In response to this, the state has given an explanation for not conducting a separate caste survey. A bench headed by Justice BR Gavai is hearing the petition.
The center has collected information about the social and economic situation in Kerala as part of the 2011 census. Kerala’s position is that there is no need to conduct a separate survey in this situation. The affidavit said that the Supreme Court has upheld the power of the President to declare socially and educationally backward persons in the states.
In 2022, the Center was asked to transfer the data collected as part of the 2011 census to Kerala regarding the socio-economic status. Then the Center handed over a copy of the report to the Chairman of the State Backward Commission in May. But the Chief Secretary told the Supreme Court that the report was not helpful in identifying the socially and educationally backward sections of Kerala and that the report did not contain socio-economic caste data. The Center has not yet filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court in the case.
