Caste census report likely to be referred to Cabinet panel or placed in Assembly: HM

NT Correspondent Bengaluru: Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara on Tuesday said that the Socio-Economic and Education Survey report, also known as the "caste census", will either be referred to a Cabinet subcommittee or introduced in the legislature, based on what the Cabinet decides next week. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Monday said the caste census will "most likely" be placed before the Cabinet for discussion on October 18. "We were accused of keeping the caste census in the cold storage after spending so much money. Now when we are saying that we will make it public, they are not able to take it," Parameshwara, a senior leader from the SC community, said, hitting back at the opposition over its criticism.

Speaking to reporters here, he said everyone in the state knows that backward classes, minorities and Dalits are more in number, and in the days ahead for the government to plan and prepare programmes, the caste census will be helpful. "... shouldn't we prepare and give programmes for those communities. Programmes are planned and made based on the population. That's the reason the Chief Minister has said that the caste census will be placed before the Cabinet on October 18, it will be discussed there," he said. Depending on the views expressed during the discussion, the Minister said, it will decided whether to form a sub-committee or to table it in the Assembly.

Asked about Vokkaliga and Lingayat leaders in the Congress not supporting the implementation of the caste census report, he said, "no, the question of support won't come here. Facts will be placed before the people, how can it be objected to ? By spending about Rs 160 crore, a caste census was done, to know the population of various communities." Karnataka State Commission for Backward Classes under its then Chairman K Jayaprakash Hegde had on February 29 submitted the report to the Chief Minister amid objections by certain sections of society and also within the ruling Congress over its implementation. Vokkaligas and Lingayats Karnataka's two dominant communities have expressed reservations about the survey, calling it "unscientific", and have demanded that it be rejected and a fresh survey be conducted.

With strong disapproval from the two politically-influential communities, the survey report may turn out to be a political hot potato for the Congress government, as it may set the stage for a confrontation, with Dalits and OBCs among others demanding for it to be made public. Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar, who is also the state Congress president, and a Vokkaliga, was a signatory, along with a couple of other ministers, to a memorandum submitted by the community to the Chief Minister earlier, requesting that the report along with the data be rejected. All India Veerashaiva Mahasabha, the apex body of Veerashaiva-Lingayats, which has also expressed its disapproval vis-a-vis the survey and demanded conduct of a fresh survey, is headed by veteran Congress leader and MLA Shamanuru Shivashankarappa. Several Lingayat ministers and MLAs too have raised objections. BJP state President B Y Vijayendra said Siddaramaiah "for political reasons or to save his position or to divert the attention from corruption allegations", was all of a sudden trying to bring the caste census to the forefront.

"Congress leaders are themselves saying that this caste census report is unscientific, not us. D K Shivakumar and Shamanuru Shivashankarappa have said it...it is clear that the Chief Minister who is anxious (because of the MUDA case) is trying to use this (caste census) as a pawn," he added. Leader of Opposition R Ashoka too alleged that the CM was indulging in all kinds of tactics to cover up the MUDA case, as he noted that the caste census was done about ten years ago and it has now all of a sudden been brought up.. "Population growth and other changes have happened in ten years.

Congress never raised it when Siddaramaiah was CM earlier or when he was coordination commission chief during the Congress-JD(S) coalition government, now they are doing it as the MUDA case is discussed nationally, they want to divert attention from it. This is Congress' conspiracy," Ashoka said. JD(S) leader and Union Minister H D Kumaraswamy too on Monday accused Siddaramaiah of playing a "drama" by trying of bring the caste census issue to the forefront, after remaining silent on it for long, aimed at diverting the public attention from the MUDA site allotment case against him.