E-Paper
Congress leaders to meet CM over release of caste data
A group of senior Congress leaders from Karnataka’s backward classes have agreed to meet chief minister Siddaramaiah and urge him to expedite the release of the state’s caste census
A section of leaders within the Congress have decided to meet chief minister Siddaramaiah and urge him to expedite the release of the state’s caste census, people familiar with the matter said.
The caste census, formally known as the “Socio-Economic and Educational Survey”, was commissioned during Siddaramaiah’s first term as chief minister in 2015 but has not been made public. Congress leaders, including labour minister Santhosh Lad, MLC Umashree, and HM Revanna, chair of the guarantee implementation committee, have called for its immediate presentation to the cabinet.
“We have agreed that the caste census must be tabled without delay,” Revanna said after a closed-door meeting with other senior leaders loyal to the chief minister on Thursday. He emphasised that the findings of the census are crucial for correcting systemic inequalities. “This report is vital to ensuring that benefits are fairly distributed,” he said.
The renewed call for action comes after Siddaramaiah, speaking at an event in Mysuru last week, reiterated the importance of the caste census.
“We are trying to bring change. Our government conducted this survey to identify and uplift marginalised communities,” he said. He lamented that the report had not been acted upon after he lost power in 2018. “I will place it before the cabinet and see to its implementation,” he vowed.
The census report, submitted to the government in February by the Karnataka state commission for backward classes, has remained in limbo, with concerns that its release could provoke backlash from influential caste groups like the Lingayats and Vokkaligas.
In 2018, some figures from the report were leaked that stirred discontent among larger communities like Lingayats and Vokkaligas, as it indicated lower population figures than commonly believed.
The leaked data indicated that Scheduled Castes (SCs) accounted for 19.5% of the state’s total population, followed by Muslims at 16%. Lingayats and Vokkaligas represented 14% and 11% of the population, respectively. Within the Other Backward Classes (OBCs), the Kuruba community alone comprised 7% of Karnataka’s population, contributing to the OBCs’ overall representation of 20% in the state.
Collectively, these groups, including SCs, STs, Muslims, and Kurubas, formed a substantial portion of the population at 47.5%. The political implications of these findings could significantly impact the state’s political landscape, according to federations of marginalised sections.
Some within the Congress, however, have advised caution. DK Suresh, a senior party leader, warned on Friday that Siddaramaiah should proceed carefully. “The chief minister should wait until the national census is conducted,” Suresh said, referring to the central government’s recent announcement of its own caste-based survey. “There’s a risk of confusion if the methodologies do not align.”
According to people familiar with the development, a delegation of former chairpersons of the state’s backward classes commission, including CS Dwarakanath, Ravivarma Kumar, H Kantharaj, and Jayaprakash Hegde, will likely meet Siddaramaiah on October 7. The group is pushing not only for the release of the census but also for the implementation of political reservations for Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in local body elections.
“The delay is unacceptable,” Revanna said, calling for the swift appointment of a new chairperson for the backward classes commission, a position that has been vacant for some time.
The caste census has taken on additional significance as Siddaramaiah faces mounting scrutiny over his involvement in the Mysore Urban Development Authority (MUDA) land allotment case.
On the opposing side, the state’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leadership has sharply criticised the Congress government’s handling of the caste census. BY Vijayendra, president of Karnataka’s BJP unit, dismissed the report as another empty promise.
“This is just another guarantee the Congress has failed to deliver,” Vijayendra said, accusing Siddaramaiah of using the census as a political tool.
“He’s only pushing this now because his standing among marginalized communities is weakening.”
Vijayendra further accused the CM of using the issue to deflect attention from the MUDA scandal. “If this report is so important, why hasn’t it been tabled already?” he asked.
