'Disobedience due to...': Siddaramaiah on Narayana, Sudha Murty's refusal to participate in caste survey

The Chief Minister asked if the couple would also refuse to participate in the survey if the union government conducts a survey in future.

Updated on: Oct 17, 2025, 14:43:38 IST

By HT News Desk

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Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Friday reacted to Infosys founder N R Narayan Murthy and his wife Sudha Murty's decision to not participate in the caste survey being conducted by the state government.

The Chief Minister asked if the couple would also refuse to participate in the survey if the union government conducts a survey in future.

Reacting to the couple's reasoning for the move that they didn't belong to any backward class, Siddaramaiah said: "It is wrong to think of the survey as a survey of the backward classes. The central government will also conduct a caste census in the coming days, will they still not cooperate? They may be showing such disobedience due to the misinformation they have."

Siddaramaiah's remarks came a day after Narayana Murthy and Sudha Murty reportedly declined to take part in the ongoing social and educational survey, also called the caste survey, in Karnataka.

The Karnataka State Backward Classes Commission for the Social and Educational Survey 2025 had issued a a pro forma, seeking information for the survey. Sudha Murty, a member of Rajya Sabha, signed a self-declaration refusing to fill up details in the document, reported news agency PTI.

“We do not belong to any backward community. Hence, we will not participate in a government-conducted survey meant for such groups,” the Rajya Sabha member reportedly wrote in the self-declaration in Kannada.

Reacting to the development, Siddaramaiah clarified that the survey includes everyone in Karnataka, including the upper castes, and said that misinformation was being spread regarding the survey.

“The state has a population of about 7 crore, and this is an economic, educational and social survey of these people,” Siddaramaiah was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.

The Karnataka Chief Minister isn't the first person to oppose this move by the Murtys. Backward Classes Welfare Minister Shivaraj Tangadagi also slammed the move earlier.

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