BC panel flags fake caste certificates in Telangana gram panchayat polls
HYDERABAD: The Telangana Backward Classes Commission has flagged serious irregularities in the recent gram panchayat elections, identifying eight winners who allegedly used fraudulent Backward Classes (BC) certificates to contest wards reserved for BC communities.
The panel has sought a government inquiry and called for tighter scrutiny of caste certificates ahead of the upcoming municipal elections, sources said.
The eight elected representatives, from different districts, are accused of securing BC certificates despite not being eligible under Telangana’s caste classification. Of them, three are women. The wards they contested were reserved for BC candidates, including seats earmarked for women.
After the panchayat polls, the commission sought detailed information from the government on the caste status of all winning candidates across the state. “During the inquiry, we discovered that eight individuals possessed BC certificates despite not being BCs. The objective is to ensure such irregularities do not recur during the municipal elections,” a source said.
The commission is in the process of writing to the state government, seeking action against the elected members and a comprehensive probe into their eligibility. A list of the eight candidates accessed by a news agency shows they are from Asifabad, Nalgonda, Khammam, Vikarabad, Siddipet, Kamareddy and two from Jagtial.
According to the list, one ward each in Kamareddy, Khammam and Jagtial was reserved for women, while the remaining wards were open to both men and women.
