Caste census report will be discussed in Cabinet: Siddaramaiah

Amid opposition to the Socio-Economic and Educational Survey (caste census) by Vokkaliga and Veerashaiva-Lingayat communities, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Sunday reiterated that the report would be placed before the Cabinet for a decision to implement the survey recommendations even as Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar said he would not allow “injustice” to any community.

A planned meeting on Sunday of the Vokkaliga community leaders to chalk out the community’s response to the government’s decision to bring the survey report before the Cabinet was postponed owing to logistical issues, sources in the Vokkaligara Sangha said. According to sangha president B. Kenchappa Gowda, the meeting was postponed to next week since senior community leaders, including Mr. Shivakumar, former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda, and Adichunchanagiri Mutt seer, were not available on Sunday. “Though we hear that the issue would be discussed in the Cabinet meeting on January 16, it will not deter us from fighting,” he said.

On Sunday, the Chief Minister told reporters in Vijayanagara district that it was natural that there would be both positive and negative opinions about the caste census, which had been conducted by spending ₹160 crore. “We have received the report and it would be placed before the Cabinet to decide about its implementation,” he added.

Though Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister H.K. Patil had indicated the issue being discussed in the Cabinet last week and the Chief Minister spoke about the Cabinet discussion, Congress sources said there was a possibility that the report would not be brought to the Cabinet till the completion of taluk panchayat and zilla panchayat elections. “The Congress could face a backlash from Vokkaligas and Veerashaiava-Lingayats if the survey is brought to the Cabinet before these elections,” they said. An earlier attempt in October 2024 had to be abandoned owing to the byelections to three Assembly constituencies.

Meanwhile, Mr. Shivakumar after meeting a delegation of Vokkaligara Sangha representatives, told reporters in Bengaluru that he had asked the sangha to postpone the meeting on caste census. “I told the sangha officials to postpone the meeting as it will create unnecessary confusion. I also told them that I will talk to the Adichunchanagiri Mutt seer about it.”

He said he had not held any meeting and that there was no need for it. “They (sangha members) had planned a separate meeting on caste census and I had informed them that I would not participate in it. They informed me that the meeting would be postponed,” he said.

Union Minister for Heavy Industries and Steel H.D. Kumaraswamy told reporters here that the Central government has already decided on the caste census, and that the State government should wait for the Central report. “The existing State-level caste census report is flawed. It was done more than 10 years ago. For how many years has the Kantharaj commission report been with the government? Beyond political rhetoric, Mr. Siddaramaiah has not done anything for the backward classes despite staying in power for seven years. If the State wants a new report, let them conduct a new survey,” he said.

Published - January 12, 2025 09:35 pm IST