Caste census to be discussed by Cabinet soon, says CM

NT Correspondent Koppal: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said that the caste census report would be placed before the Cabinet, following which a call would be taken on its implementation. He made the comments at the airstrip near Ginigera village near Koppal city during his official visit to the district on Friday. Moreover, no less than four former chairpersons of the Karnataka State Backward Classes Commission namely CS Dwarakanath, Ravivarma Kumar, H Kantharaj and Jayaprakash Hegde will call on the CM on Monday, urging him to implement the report. When questioned by mediapersons on the demand by the CM’s Economic Advisor Basavaraj Rayareddy’s public demand to implement the caste census, Siddaramaiah said it was his personal opinion.

“He (Rayareddy) expressed his opinion. What I said during the convention of students of Backward Class hostels in Mysuru was that I have received the report and that the report should be presented before the Cabinet and a discussion should take place. Only then, can it be implemented. He must have spoken in that context,” Siddaramaiah said. “It should be placed before the Cabinet and I have spoken to the Backward Class Minister (Shivaraj Thangadagi) about it. After that, we will take a decision,” he said, adding that it wouldn’t happen as early as the next week. The CM added that a call on the implementation of the Sadashiva Commission on internal reservation for Scheduled Castes (SCs) would be taken after a discussion with the Cabinet and the Congress high command.

Who opposes it? Alleged leaks from the report seem to suggest that the two most politically dominant communities in the state – Lingayats and Vokkaligas – were now outnumbered by Dalits and Muslims, both communities with less political heft. This has led to many Lingayats and Vokkaligas across party lines to oppose the report, which may recommend increasing the quota share of the more populous groups at the expense of the less populous ones. Most Lingayat and Vokkaliga ministers from Siddaramaiah’s own Cabinet have co-signed memoranda opposing the release of the caste census. This includes bigwigs like DK Shivakumar and MB Patil.