Sudha Murthy, Narayan Murthy refuse to participate in Karnataka caste survey: 'We do not belong to any backward class'

Rajya Sabha member Sudha Murthy has opted out of Karnataka's socio-educational survey, claiming her non-affiliation with backward classes.

Rajya Sabha member Sudha Murthy, former chairperson of the Infosys Foundation, has officially declined to participate in the ongoing socio-educational (caste) survey conducted by the Karnataka government.

Narayana Murthy said it is the elders' responsibility to motivate young people to vote, while his wife Sudha Murty asserted that voting gives people the ‘power to talk’. (File)

Murthy reportedly submitted a self-declaration form, citing that she does not belong to any backward class and that participation would not aid the government’s survey efforts.

Enumerators had visited her Jayanagar residence last week as part of the survey, which aims to gather data on the social, educational, and economic conditions of Karnataka residents. In her declaration, Murthy stated, “We do not belong to any backward class. Hence, participating in this survey will not be of any help to the government. Therefore, we decline to participate.”

As of now, about 15.42 lakh households in Bengaluru have been covered by enumerators. However, sources indicate that it is uncertain how many households have refused to participate, and among those who did, only 25% of the total questions have been answered so far.

Bengaluru is reportedly lagging behind other districts in survey completion. In response, the state government plans to extend the deadline to October 27, with the official order expected to be issued on Thursday.

To aid the completion of the survey, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah announced holidays for government schools from October 8 to 18, allowing teachers engaged in the survey to focus on their work.

Speaking at a press conference, Siddaramaiah said, “From September 22, we began a statewide survey to understand the social, educational, and economic conditions of the people. Today marks the final day of the survey as per the original schedule. However, in some districts, the survey work is still incomplete. In Koppal, 97% of the work is done.”

The survey, originally scheduled to conclude on October 15, is now expected to continue until the extended deadline, particularly in districts where coverage remains incomplete.

(With agency inputs)