Didn’t lobby with CM not to accept caste census, says DKS

Bengaluru, NT Bureau: Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar on Thursday “outrightly rejected” the claim that he had written a letter to CM Siddaramaiah demanding that the state’s caste census report should not be accepted.

He was referring to the Kantharaju Commission report. It was constituted in April 2015 under then Karnataka State Backward Classes Commission (KSBCC) Chairperson H Kantharaj who then prepared the report at a cost of Rs 162 crore and submitted it in the same year.

“I haven’t written any letter to the CM. I haven’t even discussed the matter with him,” Shivakumar said.

“Reports in sections of the media are far from the truth and entirely imaginary. This fake news is being circulated so as to cause a rift between me and CM Siddaramaiah,” he added.

Alleged leaks from the Kantharaju Commission report seem to suggest that the two dominant communities in the state – Lingayats and Vokkaligas – are outnumbered by Dalits and Muslims, both communities with fewer resources and political heft.

However, Dalits do have the advantage of having 36 reserved seats among the 224 Assembly constituencies. This has made many Lingayats and Vokkaligas cutting across party lines oppose the disclosure and implementation of the report.

Siddaramaiah comes from the Kuruba caste, a community of goat herders, who fall under the OBC category.

He has stated that he would implement the recommendations of the Kantharaju Commission report.