CHENNAI: AIADMK member and former Minister CVe Shanmugam on Thursday (August 27) alleged that the caste census proposed by the BJP-led Centre could undermine the reservation system, calling the exercise a planned conspiracy and urging the State not to depend on the Union government to determine the caste composition of Tamil Nadu.

Participating in the debate on the demands for grants for the Social Justice, Backward Classes, Most Backwards Classes and Minorities Welfare departments in the Assembly, Shanmugam said a major effort was under way against reservation and questioned the manner in which the proposed census would collect caste details.

"The Centre has said that around 40 questions will be asked in the caste census and that people themselves should state their caste. This could multiply the number of castes several times. This is a planned conspiracy," he alleged.

Shanmugam said the Centre and State governments already possessed caste lists and argued that the census should be conducted based on those lists.

"If a caste census is conducted using the existing lists, there will be no problem. Therefore, this cannot be considered a genuine caste census," he said, urging the State government to conduct its own exercise instead of waiting for the Centre.

Referring to caste surveys conducted in Bihar and Telangana, Shanmugam said states had the authority to provide internal reservations and urged Tamil Nadu to follow their example.

He also alleged that governments were pursuing policies that could weaken reservation without formally abolishing it through a constitutional amendment.