Karnataka Congress Bets Massive On Recent Caste Survey, Toes Social gathering Excessive Command’s Line
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With the contentious Kantharaj report now in chilly storage, the federal government hopes to finish the brand new caste survey inside 60 to 90 days, as demanded by the Congress excessive command
CM Siddaramaiah mentioned that the Congress excessive command had summoned him and his deputy, DK Shivakumar, to Delhi, the place they have been suggested that the prevailing Kantharaj report, being ten years previous, not mirrored the present social realities. (File picture: PTI)
With dominant communities pushing again and AHINDA teams demanding supply, the Congress authorities in Karnataka is betting on a contemporary survey to assist Siddaramaiah regain management over the caste arithmetic and consolidate assist throughout competing blocs forward of key political battles.
With the contentious Kantharaj report now in chilly storage, the federal government hopes to finish the brand new caste survey inside 60 to 90 days, as demanded by the Congress excessive command.
Sources informed News18 that the Congress excessive command cited the instance of Telangana, which accomplished its caste survey in simply 70 days. “So the Karnataka authorities also can full it rapidly. A lot of the bottom information already exists with the Karnataka State Backward Lessons Fee, and solely an replace with a decade’s hole and inclusion of these disregarded must be added, which ought to make the method sooner,” a senior official mentioned.
Chief minister Siddaramaiah clarified that this shall be a contemporary, legally mandated enumeration, because the legislation requires a brand new survey each ten years. The sooner caste survey was carried out in 2015 via a house-to-house train overlaying 54 parameters. It started on April 11 and concluded on Might 30 that yr. On the time, Karnataka’s inhabitants was 6.11 crore as per the 2011 Census and was projected to the touch 6.35 crore by 2015. The survey managed to cowl 5.98 crore individuals, with 1.6 lakh personnel concerned, of whom 1.33 lakh have been lecturers, Siddaramaiah mentioned.
At current cupboard conferences, Siddaramaiah informed his ministers to submit their views on the caste survey in writing, encouraging open however non-confrontational dialogue. These opposing the report flagged points associated to inhabitants figures, standards for backwardness, and the methodology utilized in assessing financial and academic indicators. Siddaramaiah assured them that any discrepancies can be addressed collectively. “This report is supposed to assist all communities—even these now opposing it,” he mentioned.
However now, that very report stands successfully shelved.
CM Siddaramaiah mentioned that the Congress excessive command had summoned him and his deputy, DK Shivakumar, to Delhi, the place they have been suggested that the prevailing Kantharaj report, being ten years previous, not mirrored the present social realities. The views of the fee’s present chairman, Madhusudhan Nayak, may even be factored into the method.
“Over ten years, quite a bit has modified. The legislation permits for a contemporary train after this era. The excessive command was clear: the report should replicate immediately’s actuality,” the CM mentioned.
Within the Delhi assembly—attended by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and MP Rahul Gandhi—the management instructed {that a} new enumeration be carried out inside 60–90 days. AICC basic secretary KC Venugopal informed the media that the survey can be expedited and that inclusivity of all communities was a precedence for the occasion.
Opposition to the Kantharaj report has not solely come from the BJP but additionally from inside the Congress. Some occasion leaders have strongly objected to the findings of the decade-old caste survey.
Siddaramaiah mentioned the choice for a contemporary survey was directed by the Congress excessive command, and a particular cupboard assembly convened to take a last name on the contentious backward courses fee report accepted it.
Earlier, a number of cupboard conferences on the caste survey dialogue have been held, a lot of which noticed sharp divisions inside the Congress itself. Ministers from the Vokkaliga and Lingayat communities insisted that the earlier report was flawed and demanded it’s discarded in favour of a contemporary one. These dominant teams had already opposed the Kantharaj report publicly, calling it biased, and a few cited improper methodology.
Congress ministers from AHINDA communities—representing minorities, backward courses, and Dalits—pushed for the quick implementation of the unique report ready by Kantharaj and later revised by Jayaprakash Hegde, who at first headed the backward class fee through the BJP rule and submitted the ultimate report back to the Congress authorities in 2024.
Siddaramaiah didn’t maintain again in blaming former CM and now union minister HD Kumaraswamy for blocking the unique caste survey report when it was able to be submitted after his first tenure as chief minister, when he commissioned the research.
The report couldn’t be tabled earlier than his tenure resulted in 2018. When the Congress-JD(S) coalition got here to energy and Kumaraswamy grew to become CM, the report was prepared. The then backward courses minister, Puttaranga Shetty, was approached by chairman H Kantharaj and different fee members to formally obtain it.
“However Kumaraswamy pressured Puttaranga Shetty to not settle for it. He stalled it. That’s the reality,” Siddaramaiah mentioned, holding the JD(S) chief accountable for derailing the method.
As soon as Kantharaj’s time period ended, the BJP authorities appointed Jayaprakash Hegde as the brand new chairman. Siddaramaiah identified that every one fee members have been BJP appointees. Hegde submitted his revised model of the report with contemporary suggestions on February 29, 2024. “Kantharaj was additionally current on the time of submission,” he added.
The CM mentioned the report couldn’t be mentioned because of the Lok Sabha elections. After his authorities returned to energy, it was positioned earlier than the cupboard in 2025.
Rohini Swamy, Affiliate Editor at News18, has been a journalist for almost 20 years within the tv and digital area. She covers south India for News18’s digital platform. She has beforehand labored with t…Learn Extra
Rohini Swamy, Affiliate Editor at News18, has been a journalist for almost 20 years within the tv and digital area. She covers south India for News18’s digital platform. She has beforehand labored with t… Learn Extra
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