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The Hindu
12-06-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
BJP slams Congress over caste survey report, calls it political ploy to divert attention from stampede tragedy
The BJP on Wednesday described the Congress' decision to junk the Socio-economic and Educational Survey report – popularly known as the caste survey – as an effort to shift public attention from the stampede tragedy in which 11 people died during the victory celebrations of Indian Premier League champions Royal Challengers Bangalore. Addressing media persons here on Wednesday, Mysuru MP Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wadiyar said that the survey conducted by the State Government was a wasteful, unscientific, and politically motivated exercise. 'The BJP had always opposed it on the grounds that it was unscientific, and the Congress, with its decision to junk the original report, has conceded that the report is flawed,' said Mr. Wadiyar. He also said that the Centre's planned caste-based census in 2026 would render any parallel State-level effort redundant, and urged the State Government to drop the move as it amounted to wastage of tax payers' money. 'The State Government has proved its incompetence in conducting such an exercise and since the Centre is already taking it up, there was no need for duplication of efforts,' said Mr. Wadiyar. That the decision to re-do the caste survey was taken by the Congress high command in Delhi, raises questions whether Karnataka is ruled by an elected government or office bearers of the All India Congress Committee, he added. 'It is not the Karnataka Cabinet or the people of the State who are taking these decisions – it is being dictated by unelected leaders in Delhi. Is it Rahul Gandhi and K.C. Venugopal who are running Karnataka?' he asked. Pointing out that more than ₹165 crore was spent over 10 years ago in preparing the report, Mr. Wadiyar said that people need to know how the Congress intends to compensate for it. Raghu Kautilya, BJP OBC Morcha State president echoed similar sentiments, and said that with the Congress in trouble in Karnataka over the stampede tragedy, the party leaders have chosen to discard the report to divert public attention and retain their posts. The Congress' move is a clear indicator that the party was prepared to jettison the interest of the backward classes to remain in power, said Mr. Raghu. He also challenged Congress leaders' claim that a new caste survey could be completed in 90 days. 'Is this serious governance or just another headline-grabbing move?' he asked. The BJP leaders said nearly ₹165 crore spent on the Kantharaj survey should be compensated to the tax payers and urged the State Government to focus on practical development issues rather than engaging in politically motivated census exercises.
Indian Express
11-06-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
CM Siddaramaiah points to Congress high command, says re-enumerating caste population data not Karnataka govt's decision
A day after the Congress high command asked the Karnataka Government to re-enumerate the population figures of various communities in the state for its Socio-economic and Educational Survey, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said the exercise was based on the directions issued by the party leadership and was not the decision of the state government. Responding to media queries at Gowribidanur in Chikkaballapur district, Siddaramaiah said, 'We will do whatever the high command says. It is not my decision. It is not the decision of the Cabinet. It is not the decision of our government. It is a decision of the high command. They have told us to go for re-enumeration,' he said. The directions from the high command had come ahead of a special Cabinet meeting convened by the Siddaramaiah administration Thursday, which was said to be keen on accepting the report. The decision was announced by Congress general secretary K C Venugopal after the high command held a meeting with Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar. The report had kept several communities on tenterhooks, especially the Lingayats and Vokkaligas who had publicly criticised it for being 'unscientific'. 'The high command has told us that they have received some complaints because the survey was done in 2015-16. Nine to 10 years have passed, and the data has become old,' Siddaramaiah said. The government will now conduct the survey 'in a short span of time', within 60-70 days, he added. This does not mean that the entire report will be rejected, the Congress leader stated, referring to the various recommendations made in it. 'Principally, the report is accepted, but enumeration will be done again,' he added. The survey was commissioned in 2015 during Siddaramaiah's first term as chief minister but was placed before the Cabinet only in April this year. Dominant communities have opposed the report as the survey found that Other Backward Classes (OBCs) formed 70 per cent of the state's population and dismissed assumptions about the size of the Lingayat and Vokkaliga communities. OBC groups, however, have asked the government to accept the report.
The Hindu
10-06-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
Caste data set to be re-enumerated in Karnataka to address concerns of some communities
The Congress high command on Tuesday suggested to the State government in Karnataka to hold re-enumeration of caste data within a stipulated time to address concerns of some communities who complained of being left out of the Socio-economic and Educational Survey (caste census) that was conducted 10 years ago, in 2015-16. A special Cabinet meeting scheduled to be held on June 12 at Nandi Hills in Chikkaballapur district is expected to announce the calendar of events for conducting the resurvey of castes. The party high command had summoned Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and KPCC president and Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar to New Delhi to discuss the political development in the State following the stampede in Bengaluru which claimed 11 lives and left 56 injured. Agreed in-principle Briefing the media in New Delhi, AICC general secretary and MP K.C. Venugopal said, 'The Congress party thinks that whatever the Karnataka government has done in the caste census should be agreed to in-principle. But there are some apprehensions from some sections and communities about the counting of the caste.' Politically dominant castes, especially Lingayats and Vokkaligas, had been demanding a resurvey, while those in Other Backward Classes (OBCs) had been demanding implementation of the recommendations of the caste census report. The caste census emerged as one of the key State issues discussed in a party meeting attended by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, senior leader Rahul Gandhi, AICC general secretary in charge of Karnataka Randeep Singh Surjewala Mr. Venugopal, Mr. Siddaramaiah and Mr. Shivakumar in New Delhi. In 60 to 80 days The State government had conducted the caste census a decade ago and the data was now outdated, Mr. Venugopal said. 'The Congress party has suggested to the Chief Minister to do a re-enumeration process within a stipulated time, say 60, 70 or 80 days. This is what we decided about the caste census in the meeting,' he said. The caste census report was tabled in the State Cabinet meeting held on April 17 and discussed in the subsequent meetings. But the government was unable to reach consensus on the matter owing opposition from Ministers belonging to the Veerashaiva-Lingayat and Vokkaliga communities, besides Opposition parties, seers and community organisations of dominant castes. The move comes close on the heels of the Centre announcing the schedule of the national Census with caste enumeration.
Indian Express
10-06-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
Siddaramaiah's caste survey report ‘scrapped', says BJP after Congress asks Karnataka govt to relook at population data
After the Congress high command asked the Karnataka government led by the party to re-enumerate the population of various communities in the state to update its Socio-economic and Educational Survey report, the Opposition BJP criticised Chief Minister Siddaramaiah for his 'usual recklessness' and sought an apology. Taking to X, Karnataka BJP general secretary Sunil Kumar Karkala contended that the Congress high command 'has scrapped the caste census report prepared by the state government.' The report, he said, was 'even scheduled to be approved in a cabinet meeting at Nandi Hills. But the Congress high command has now stepped in, rejected the report, and asked for a re-census within a time frame, citing inaccuracies in the data,' he posted. The BJP demanded an apology from the Siddaramaiah and the Congress for creating 'discontent among communities', alleging that the chief minister had pushed for the report marred by discrepancies to be accepted by the cabinet Earlier in the day, the Congress leadership advised the government to re-enumerate population numbers of various castes, while granting 'in-principle' approval to the report prepared by the Karnataka State Commission for Backward Classes (KSCBC). The high command said the numbers presented in the report were a decade old. The decision was announced by Congress general secretary K C Venugopal after the high command held a meeting with Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar over the matter. The survey was commissioned in 2015 during Siddaramaiah's first term as chief minister but was placed before the cabinet only in April this year. The cabinet is yet to accept the report and has sought written opinions from ministers about the findings and recommendations of the report. Dominant communities have opposed the report as the survey has found that the Other Backward Classes (OBCs) formed 70 per cent of the state's population and dismissed assumptions about the size of the Lingayat and Vokkaliga communities. OBC groups, however, have sought the government to accept the report. 'This report, which was prepared at a cost of Rs 150 crore, is a huge waste of taxpayer money and does a great disservice to the backward and marginalised communities. The BJP had repeatedly pointed out that there were discrepancies in the data of the caste census report and demanded that it be re-examined. However, Siddaramaiah continued with his usual recklessness even in such a sensitive matter,' said Kumar, BJP MLA for Karkala and a former minister. Not just Siddaramaiah, the Congress high command has also hurt the sentiments of backward and marginalised communities, Kumar alleged. 'For the past decade, Siddaramaiah has been fooling the people on this very issue, creating discontent and dissatisfaction among communities,' the BJP leader said, demanding an apology from Siddaramaiah and the Congress.
Indian Express
01-05-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
Centre's Caste Census will have no bearing on Karnataka Survey, says CM Siddaramaiah
The Caste Census announced by the Centre will not have a bearing on the Socio-economic and Educational Survey carried out by the state government, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said Thursday. He dismissed the criticism raised by Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw regarding the sanctity of the caste enumeration carried out by the state governments. The chief minister said the Cabinet would discuss the findings of the Survey report in its meeting scheduled for May 9. 'I have sought opinions in writing from the Cabinet ministers. Based on that, we will discuss it at the next Cabinet (meeting). We will take a decision after that,' he said at a news conference. Responding to Vaishnaw's remarks that the caste enumeration exercises carried out by the state governments were just 'surveys' and were done in a non-transparent manner, Siddaramaiah said that it was just the opinion of the minister. 'They have done it in Bihar, where the BJP is an alliance partner (in the state government). What does he have to say for that?' he asked. 'The Constitution does not say that the states do not have the right to carry out a Socio-economic Survey. Is there any provision barring the states?' he said, adding that the Caste Census announced by the Centre does reduce the significance of the exercise carried out by the state. 'Once we take a decision (on the findings of the Socio-economic Survey), we will send the recommendations to the Central government,' he said. The Survey findings will be used as the basis for the next budget, according to the chief minister. The state government will implement all the recommendations of the Survey report submitted by the Karnataka State Backward Classes Commission, except the one regarding increasing the reservation limit. 'That should be done by the Centre,' Siddaramaiah said, noting a 50 per cent ceiling currently was in place due to a Supreme Court decision. The Commission in its Survey report has recommended increasing reservation for Other Backward Classes from the existing 32 per cent to 51 per cent, noting that the communities comprise 70 per cent of the state population. Though the Karnataka Cabinet held a special meeting to discuss its findings a week after it was placed before it, the meeting was 'inconclusive'.
