a day ago
Rs 160 crore down the drain as Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah 2015 caste report
Rs 160 crore down the drain as Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah 2015 caste report (Photo: ANI)
BENGALURU: Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah on Thursday said his cabinet has decided to commission a fresh socio-educational survey since the 2015 survey conducted by then Karnataka State Commission for Backwards Classes chairman H Kantharaju had lapsed as it is 10 years old.
The CM's remarks come a day after he stood by the 2015 survey, also called the caste census, saying: "We won't reject the report." On Thursday, after a cabinet meeting, he said: "This decision is in accordance with Section 11(2) of Karnataka State Commission for Backwards Classes Act, 1995, which empowers the state government to commission socio-educational surveys once in 10 years." He did not announce the fresh survey's launch date.
Thursday's meeting was convened to discuss the 2015 report, which was submitted in February 2024. "We couldn't discuss the report then because of the 2024 general elections," he said.
Responding to the criticism, his government scrapped the Kantharaju report, on which it spent Rs 160 crore, owing to the high command's pressure. CM said he obliged all stakeholders, including the high command. The decision for a fresh census was taken after the Congress high command on Wednesday directed CM and his deputy to conduct a fresh enumeration.
