Divided opinions within the ruling Congress regarding the Karnataka Socio-economic and Educational Survey are expected to be discussed in a special Cabinet meeting scheduled for Thursday. This meeting aims to address the contents of the survey, commissioned during Siddaramaiah’s first tenure as chief minister in 2015 and commonly referred to as the caste census, which was presented to the Cabinet during the previous meeting held on April 11
Not only the Opposition National Democratic Alliance (NDA) allies BJP and Janata Dal (Secular), but Congress legislators from dominant communities Vokkaligas and Lingayats have also expressed reservations over the findings of the survey, which found that Lingayats and Voggaligas accounted for only 21.3 per cent of Karnataka’s population. Earlier, there were claims that these two dominant castes added up close to a third of the state’s population.
However, leaders from Other Backward Classes (OBC), Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST) have welcomed the findings of the survey.
Senior Congress legislator Shamanuru Shivashankarappa, also president of Akhila Bharatha Veerashaiva Mahasabha, said that like Vokkaligas, Lingayats, too, were opposed to the census. “Let’s see, if they implement it (despite the opposition),” he said Wednesday.
This however, did not sit well with Congress MLC and a permanent invitee to the Congress Working Committee, B K Hariprasad, who comes from an OBC community. “Nobody can threaten the government or the Congress party. But, in a democracy people are free to air their opinions. Ultimately, the state government has to decide on it (implementing the report), and I am confident that it will take the decision,” he said.
During the day, Congress MLA Basavaraju Shivaganaga lambasted the seven Lingayat ministers in the state Cabinet for not convening a meeting of community legislators regarding the survey, like the one held by Vokkaliga community. “They should resign,” he said.
On Tuesday evening, Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar chaired a meeting with legislators from the Vokkaliga community, who are learnt to have expressed reservations over implementing the caste census. Shivakumar refused to divulge the outcome of the meeting, saying that he would present his stance during the special Cabinet meeting. In the past, the Vokkaliga leader had opposed the caste census.
