Congress leaders ask Karnataka to release caste survey report

The demand came a day after the Nitish Kumar government in Bihar, where the Congress is part of the ruling alliance, released findings of its caste survey

Bengaluru:

By the time our government’s tenure ended the report was not completed...If he [Jayaprakash Hegde] submits the report, let’s see..., Siddaramaiah said. (PTI)

Two senior Congress leaders, including former Union minister M Veerappa Moily, on Tuesday mounted pressure on the party-led Karnataka government to make public the findings of the state’s caste survey conducted during the previous tenure of Siddaramaiah as the chief minister.

The demand came a day after the Nitish Kumar government in Bihar, where the Congress is part of the ruling alliance, released findings of its caste survey. The Siddaramaiah-led government in 2015 had commissioned the social and educational survey, popularly known as caste survey, in the state.

Political observers maintain that the survey report, part of which was leaked ahead of the 2018 assembly polls, has not been made public as the findings allegedly dispute the numerical strength of Lingayats and Vokkaligas — the dominant castes in the state.

Former Union law minister M Veerappa Moily on Tuesday asked the chief minister Siddaramaiah to release the report of the caste survey conducted in the state. “The report was available with both during the tenure of (HD) Kumaraswamy, (BS) Yediyurappa and (Basavaraj) Bommai as chief minister (between 2018 and 2023). That means they (JDS and BJP) are not for that (releasing the report), it was very clear,” Moily said.

“Whenever the Congress government comes (to power), we want to serve the interests of the backward classes,” said Moily, who is also a former Karnataka chief minister.

Moily recalled that he had released the report of the Chinnappa Reddy Commission in 1992 when he was the CM even though the report of the panel constituted by previous Ramakrishna Hegde regime was ready during the latter’s tenure at the helm itself. “I am asking Siddaramaiah to release the report immediately,” he said.

“If there are “problems” regarding “injustice” (to some communities) in the report, Siddaramaiah can take the course of rectification after releasing it, Moily said, adding, the CM should not cite technical reasons for not making it public.

Siddaramaiah, however, said his government will take a decision on the matter after the state backward classes commission submits the report on the caste and socio-economic survey. He also blamed the previous chief ministers for delay in the report.

“After ordering for the caste census, I had tasked the Backward Classes Commission under [then chairperson] H Kantharaj to prepare a report. By the time our government’s tenure ended the report was not completed,” he told reporters.

He added that former chief minister HD Kumaraswamy, who headed the Congress-JD(S) coalition government, did not accept the report and later Kantharaj’s tenure ended. The coalition government collapsed within two years of its formation due to defection from both parties to the BJP.

Siddaramaiah said that the current chairperson of the commission, Jayaprakash Hegde, has to submit a report duly signed by the member-secretary. “If he submits the report, let’s see...,” he said. “I had asked (Hegde) once, he said he will submit, but it has not come to us yet.”

Hegde said the report is likely to be submitted to the government by next month. “There was a technical problem, the report that was made ready earlier was without the signature of the member-secretary...It’s now before us, we are finalising it. We will submit it, maybe before the end of November,” he added.

Senior Congress leader BK Hariprasad also asked the state government to make the report public. “Bihar, which is governed by the INDIA alliance, has released its caste census. Rahul Gandhi has spoken passionately about ensuring justice for the backward classes. It is now imperative for Karnataka to forthwith release the it,” he said.

This call has also garnered support from Karnataka food and civil supplies minister KH Muniyappa. “Conducting a caste census is scientifically right. Even the last man must get all the government facilities and equal rights. If this is to become a reality then the caste census must be released. The government will soon take a decision on accepting it. None of the communities would be affected by the report,” Muniyappa said.

Before the May 2023 Karnataka assembly elections, the Congress had promised to publish the caste survey report and introduce welfare programs based on its findings. Shortly after assuming office, on June 8, Siddaramaiah engaged with various Dalit groups and declared the government’s readiness to accept the survey report. However, progress on this matter has been slow.

During Siddaramaiah’s first term as CM, the extensive 2015 survey was commissioned at a cost of ₹162 crore, marking the first effort of its kind by any Indian state since 1935. The colossal task of surveying 1.6 crore households in Karnataka, ordered in 2014, took over a year to complete. A workforce of 160,000 personnel diligently visited homes across the state.

Bharat Electronics Limited was entrusted with the responsibility of digitising the collected data. The government said that the findings would aid in determining reservations and quotas for the Other Backward Communities (OBC) category. However, the report’s contents and the anticipated date of public release were not disclosed. In 2018, certain findings were leaked, much to the displeasure of larger communities such as Lingayats and Vokkaligas, as the leaked figures pegged their population to be much lower than commonly believed.

According to the leak, Scheduled Castes (SCs) accounted for 19.5% of the state’s total population, making them the largest caste group. Muslims followed closely, constituting 16% of the population. Lingayats and Vokkaligas represented 14% and 11% of the population, respectively.

Among the Other Backward Classes (OBCs), the Kuruba community alone accounted for 7% of the state’s population. Overall, the OBCs constituted 20% of Karnataka’s population.

When considering SCs, STs, Muslims, and Kurubas collectively, they formed 47.5% of the total population, representing the most influential combination. Chief minister Siddaramaiah’s AHINDA (Minorities, Backward Classes, and Dalits) group is expected to be the most formidable force in the state, relegating Lingayats and Vokkaligas to secondary positions.

K Jayaprakash Hegde, the chairman of the state Commission for Backward Classes said the report is being finalised. “The data is final but the report doesn’t have the signature of the member secretary of the committee that prepared the report. So the report needs to be finalised. There is no pressure from the government asking us not to release the data. Once we finalise the report, we will submit it, maybe before the end of November,” he said.

The opposition attacked the Congress over the delay in releasing the report, “Siddaramaiah’s government in 2014 had constituted the committee. They spent over ₹189 crores. Even now they have not released the report, even though Siddaramaiah openly promised that if he comes to power he will release the report, why hasn’t done that yet?” asked JD(S) leader and former chief minister HD Kumaraswamy.

BJP’s South Bengaluru MP Tejasvi Surya reacted to the controversy saying: “Hypocrisy is the second name of the Congress. It is time for the Congress to walk the talk and release the report,”

Political experts have pointed out that the release of the report could cause serious political implications. “There will be political implications, considering the fact that the dominant communities in Karnataka will no longer hold numerical strength,” political analyst Sandeep Shastri told HT.

However, he cautioned that viewing Scheduled Castes as a single entity may not be entirely accurate. He also raised the question of whether Muslims should be included in the caste equations, which could have influenced the Congress’ decision not to release the data before the Lok Sabha elections.

(With PTI inputs)

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