State's social survey is distinct from Centre's caste census: CM

Hindustan Times

5 hours ago

Chief minister Siddaramaiah on Monday criticised the Union government for not conducting a detailed social, economic and educational survey and emphasised that such an exercise is vital for achieving social justice.
'Social justice cannot be achieved without understanding the socio-economic conditions of the people. That is why a fresh survey is necessary,' Siddaramaiah told reporters in Davanagere.
Questioning the scope of the Centre's approach to the decennial Census, he said that it lacks the depth needed to understand caste-based inequalities. 'The Centre is only talking about conducting the Census under the 27th series. Nowhere has it said that it will include a social, educational or economic survey,' he said.
Asserting that Karnataka's initiative was broader in scope, he said: 'What we are doing is a social, educational, and economic survey. It also includes caste enumeration.' He further said: 'We have no quarrel with the Centre's Census. But there is a difference between what they are doing and what we are doing. Ours is a social, economic, and educational survey.'
Siddaramaiah also invoked a legal basis for the exercise, referring to a provision under the caste-based reservation law that mandates a fresh survey once every ten years. 'There have been objections and criticisms from both privileged and disadvantaged groups regarding the report. But more importantly, Section 11(1) of the caste-based reservation law states that a fresh survey should be carried out after ten years. That's why we are conducting it now,' he said.
The remarks came days after the Karnataka cabinet approved a proposal to scrap the earlier 2015 caste-based socio-educational survey and replace it with a new survey, to be completed within 90 days. The decision was taken unanimously on June 12.
Defending the move, social welfare minister HC Mahadevappa said in Bengaluru that a caste census is essential for effective administration and criticised the BJP for never having conducted such an exercise. 'The BJP, which has been ruling at the Centre for the last two terms, has not bothered to conduct a caste census,' he said. Mahadevappa also raised concerns about using population growth as a basis for increasing constituencies, warning, 'The number of constituencies should not be increased on the basis of population.'
The BJP, however, pushed back against the state government's decision. Former minister and BJP MLA Sunil Kumar accused the Congress government of misleading the public. 'The Central caste census contains 36 questions, not limited to caste but also covering education and economic status,' he said.
Kumar alleged that Siddaramaiah initially delayed the report due to internal party pressures. 'After being humiliated by the high command, Siddaramaiah extended the timeline for the caste census under Jayaprakash Hegde. Now, in an effort to save face, he is talking about a re-census,' he said.
He also criticised the practicality of the fresh survey, pointing out its high cost and tight deadline. 'It took them three months to classify one crore people; how can they classify seven crore at the same time?' Kumar said. 'With no budget allocation and a scientifically impossible 90-day timeline, the process lacks feasibility.'