MB Patil defends signing caste census petition

NT Correspondent | NT

Bengaluru: Minister for Medium and Large Scale Industries M B Patil on Monday defended himself for signing a memorandum against the caste census.

The petition by All India Veerashaiva Mahasabha (AIVM) was co-signed by fellow Lingayats and Cabinet colleagues namely Minister for Forests and Ecology Eshwar Khandre, Minister for Sugar and Textiles Shivanand Patil and Chief Whip Ashok Pattan.

In fact, 32 Lingayat lawmakers across party lines had signed the document and it was submitted to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah by senior Congress MLA from Davangere and AIVM president Shamanur Shivashankarappa on the last day of the winter session in Belagavi.

The petition demands scrapping of the caste census on account of its “flaws” such as it being conducted eight years ago.

The organization wants another “scientific” survey based on Aadhar numbers. Grand Old Party MLC BK Hariprasad had gone on record and stated that it was inappropriate on the part of ministers who serve in government to sign such a document.

Patil, however, insisted that he wasn’t necessarily opposed to a caste census.

“We didn’t do it secretly. We never opposed it. We only expressed our fears. In the Lingayat community, we have 40 to 50 castes. Take Lingayat Ganiga (caste of oil pressers), for instance. If they put down themselves as Lingayat-Ganiga, they won’t get 2A (sub-category under OBC). So they say Hindu-Ganiga. Take Sadars and Banajigas. They also do the same thing. Lingayat-Reddys put themselves down as Hindu-Reddy for 3A benefits. We have several such castes such as Kumabaras, Kammaras, Upparas etc. Our demand is that all these communities be classified as Lingayats even if they put themselves down as Hindus,” Patil said, adding that similar issues had cropped up with Vokkaliga sub-castes who would be counted under the larger community.

Deputy CM Shivakumar, a Vokkaliga, is also a cosignatory to a memorandum submitted by community leaders, requesting CM Siddaramaiah to reject the caste census.

Exercise began in 2015

The Kantharaju Commission report had been constituted in April 2015 during Siddaramaiah’s first term under Kar nataka State Commission for Backward Classes (KSCBC) Chairperson H Kantharaj at a cost of Rs 162 crore.

Leaks from the Kantharaju Commission report allegedly disclose that the two most politically dominant communities in the state – Lingayats and Vokkaligas – were now outnumbered by Dalits and Muslims, both communities with fewer resources and political heft.

This has led to many Lingayats and Vokkaligas across party lines to oppose the disclosure and implementation of the report, which may recommend increasing the quota share of the more populous groups at the expense of the less populous ones.