a day ago
BBMP suspends 10 civic officials after QR-coded caste census stickers found on bikes, tea stalls
The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) Monday suspended 10 civic officials for purported negligence in conducting the caste census ordered by the state government.
The exercise to collect information regarding members of 101 communities falling under the Scheduled Caste category has been mired in controversy since it was launched in Bengaluru on June 23.
Several citizens have alleged that QR-coded stickers marking Scheduled Caste (SC) households have been pasted on buildings, vehicles, and even tea stalls in a random manner.
In 2015, the Congress government spent ₹170 Cr on a caste census in Karnataka, then blamed dogs for its flaws. Now in Bengaluru, BBMP is pasting caste stickers without collecting any data. From dogs to data-less drama, Congress's idea of social justice is a comedy of errors.
— P C Mohan (@PCMohanMP) July 3, 2025
Suralkar Vikas Kishore, Special Commissioner (Welfare), BBMP, admitted to gaps in carrying out the census. He, however, said, 'If the sticker is pasted on a non-SC house, they can just ignore it and if the house occupants belong to the SC community, then they can call the helpline number, and the field officers will visit them. Or they can participate in the survey online by using the QR-coded sticker.'
'We have suspended 10 officials for their shoddy work, and we will initiate action against them. But these stickers don't indicate that the survey is completed,' he added.
Meanwhile, several Bengaluru residents flagged issues relating to the survey on social media.
'Please let me know the caste of HONDA ACTIVA!' one social media user sarcastically posted on X after he spotted the sticker on his two-wheeler.
In another case, BBMP officials allegedly tried to paste the QR-coded sticker on a building in Chikkalasandra without speaking to the residents.
Shashank, son of the house owner, said, 'We were inside the house when they (BBMP officials) arrived. They did not ask for any details and failed to show their ID cards. When we told them that they could not paste the sticker without collecting the details, the BBMP officials assaulted us. We went to the Subramanyapura police station to file a complaint. The civic officials, thereafter, apologised to us, so we returned without filing a complaint.'
Medha S, a resident of Puttenahalli, said, 'These people are pasting the stickers like how product sales executives throw pamphlets inside houses. They are doing this despite knowing that there are occupants in the house.'
Reacting to the controversy, Karnataka BJP president B Y Vijayendra said on X, 'The so-called Caste Survey is nothing more than a hollow spectacle, orchestrated by CM Siddaramaiah with no real political will to implement it meaningfully. This exercise – born out of the Congress government's continued apathy towards internal reservation – has now become a subject of public mockery. Media reports and citizen accounts point to a farcical execution, where enumerators merely paste stickers and leave without any genuine engagement with residents.'
'Let's not forget: the Kantharaj Commission report was submitted in 2015. Yet, during his full five-year term as Chief Minister, Siddaramaiah chose not to act on it. CM Siddaramaiah must stop misleading marginalised communities with half-hearted theatrics. The people of Karnataka don't need empty promises – they deserve results,' he added.
The BBMP has claimed that it has till now identified over 6.7 lakh SC individuals after covering more than 1.8 lakh SC households in the city.
