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Karnataka: Original report on enumeration exercise in 2015 missing, says BJP
Amid the controversy, chief minister Siddaramaiah said the OBC Commission’s tenure will be extended till it submits the report
Bengaluru
Amid differences within the Congress over the caste survey report, the Bharatiya Janata Party has alleged that the original survey report prepared by H Kantharaj, the former chairman of the Karnataka State Commission for Backward Classes, has gone missing.
Despite existence of scanned copies, the absence of proper authorisation renders them unacceptable, claimed the BJP. The current commission, under chairman K Jayaprakash Hegde, is now in the process of developing a new report using the same data sourced from Bharat Electronics Ltd. (BEL) systems.
Vijayapura BJP MLA Basanagouda Patil took to X, and shared a letter written by OBC Commission chairman Hegde, in which he sought the original report from the government.
The letter read, “On August 26, 2021, sealed boxes containing the statistics and other details in the Social and Economic Survey – 2015 were opened in the presence of the Chairman of the Backward Classes Commission, members and Member Secretary as per due process. The Commission has observed that in the printed main version of the report, there was no signature of the Member Secretary. Along with this, it was found that the original copy of the main printed copy or blueprint was not available in the sealed boxes.”
“The officer concerned was directed to submit the blueprint immediately. The officer has submitted a reply and it is attached. Bringing this matter to the notice of the government, I would seek how to proceed further and take action in this regard,” it added.
Patil said, “The caste census report submitted does not have the original copy showing lack of responsibility or a conspiracy theory. The validity of this document which does not have the signature of the Member Secretary is questionable. Despite being privy to such developments, the government has not taken action against errant officials. This seems to be a drama deliberately done by the government,” the BJP MLA said.
“Commission chairman Hegde acknowledged absence of the report prepared by Kantharaj from the Commission’s custody. However, he reassured me that the survey data remains intact in the software,” Patil said.
Hegde said, “We do not have the Kantharaj committee’s worksheet; if we had it, the process would have been easier. The survey reports are secure, both in hard copy and within the Bharat Electronics software.”
Reacting to the development chief minister Siddaramaiah said in Bengaluru on Wednesday that he had not seen the content of the caste report. “I don’t know about the original copy of the report going missing. We will go through the caste report and verify,” he said.
Amid the controversy, Siddaramaiah said the OBC Commission’s tenure will be extended till it submits the report. “Jayaprakash Hegde (OBC Commission chairman) had met me. He told me that he will submit the report in December. I told him that we will extend his tenure till he submits the report. I have asked him to submit it before January,” the CM said.
