Latest news with #KarnatakaStateCommissionforBackwardClassesAct
Indian Express
2 days ago
- Politics
- Indian Express
After high command diktat, Karnataka government junks caste census report, to go for fresh survey
Karnataka's cabinet on Thursday decided to conduct a fresh socio-educational survey of various castes in the state and not to implement the recommendations of the previous survey–popularly called the caste census–conducted by the Karnataka State Commission for Backward Classes. The decision came after the Congress high command met Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Tuesday, after which the party leadership asked Siddaramaiah to go for a 're-enumeration' of the populations of the different castes in the state. The diktat from the high command came when the chief minister was on the verge of having his cabinet clear the recommendations of the survey report in a special cabinet meeting held on Thursday. Siddaramaiah, who announced the decision at a news conference, referred to a provision under the Karnataka State Commission for Backward Classes Act to defend the fresh survey. As per Section 11, Clause 1 of the Act, the findings of the Socio-economic and Education Survey carried out in 2015 would be invalid as 10 years had passed since then. 'The State Government may at any time, and shall, at the expiration of ten years from the coming into force of this Act and every succeeding period of ten years thereafter, undertake revision of the lists with a view to excluding from such lists those classes who have ceased to be backward classes or for including in such lists, new backward classes,' the clause reads. 'The provision is very clear,' Siddaramaiah said, adding '…the cabinet, considering these clauses, has decided that since the commission conducted the survey 10 years ago, we will ask the commission to go for a fresh survey.' Responding to queries, the chief minister said the modalities of the exercise would be announced soon but the survey would be completed in a 90-day time frame. The recommendations of the survey report–such as shifting Kurubas from Category 2A (Other Backward Classes) to Category 1 (Backward Castes), enhancing reservation for Muslims under the 2B category from four to eight per cent, enhancing reservation for the 3A and 3B categories, which include the dominant Vokkaliga and Lingayat communities, from existing four and five per cent to seven and eight per cent, respectively–will now be scrapped. The re-survey is considered a setback for the chief minister, who had along with senior ministers such as Satish Jarkiholi and H C Mahadevappa pushed for the implementation of the survey. At the same time, the dominant Lingayat and Vokkaliga communities and their leaders had cast apprehensions on the survey and publicly opposed its findings. Sources say that Shivakumar had opposed the report in the cabinet meeting held on June 5 and flew to Delhi earlier this week seeking the intervention of the high command. 'Both Vokkaligas and Lingayats teaming up due to the report would not augur well for the party in the next elections,' an aide close to Shivakumar said, claiming it to be the reason for the Vokkaliga leader to lobby against the report. Apart from that, prominent Lingayat leaders too are learnt to have complained to the Congress high command about the 'complications' the report would create if its recommendations were to be implemented. Siddaramaiah commissioned the survey in 2015 during his first tenure as chief minister and it was accepted by the state cabinet in April this caste re-survey, Karnataka caste census, re-enumeration of castes, Siddaramaiah, Vokkaliga, Lingayat, D K Shivakumar
The Hindu
2 days ago
- Politics
- The Hindu
After nudge by high command, Cabinet gives nod for fresh survey of castes
Nudged by the Congress high command, which had been petitioned by the politically-dominant Vokkaliga and Veerashaiva-Lingayat communities against accepting the Socio-Economic and Education Survey (caste census) report, the Karnataka Cabinet on Thursday gave its nod for a fresh survey. The Congress high command, on Tuesday, suggested to the Karnataka government to hold re-enumeration of caste data within a stipulated time to address concerns of some communities who complained of being 'left out.' With the Cabinet decision, the caste census of 2015 — which had been conducted for the first time during the colonial times in 1931 — is no longer valid. Reason for re-survey Saying that the lapse of 10 years since the conduct of the survey, by the Karnataka State Commission for Backward Classes headed by H. Kantharaj in 2015, as the reason for re-survey, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, in the post-Cabinet briefing, told presspersons: 'As per the Karnataka State Commission for Backward Classes Act, 1995, a fresh survey is mandated every 10 years. A lot of changes would have taken place in this last 10 years in the social and educational realm.' He also said that the Cabinet had, in principle, agreed to the survey report submitted by Mr. Hegde. When Mr. Siddaramaiah's response was sought on if the State government was under pressure from the high command, the Chief Minister said: 'The process was on. The high command has also advised for a new survey. We are not doing it just because they asked us to do a new survey. We have not succumbed to the pressure of the high command.' Asked why the State Cabinet had accepted the report in April, 2025, when it was nearly 10 years (survey conducted between April 11-2015 and 30 May, 2015), the Chief Minister said: 'It was only after discussions started that we realised that by law and Constitutional provisions it has to be done after a lapse of 10 years. As per Section 11 of the Act, any report after 10 years is not tenable. The provisions in the Act is clear that a new survey has to be conducted every 10 years after which a new list of backward classes could be drawn by either deleting existing castes or adding new castes.' It was also pointed out to the Chief Minister that when Mr. Hegde submitted his report, the survey had not completed 10 years. Within 90 days Stating that the fresh survey work would be completed 'within 90 days of notifying', he said that members to the backward classes commission will be appointed in the 'next two to three days'. Currently, barring chairman Madhusudan R. Naik, who was appointed in February 2025, posts of nominated members are vacant. Government appoints five members to the commission besides the chairman. It may be mentioned here that when the first Siddaramaiah-led government conducted the first survey in 2015 at a cost of ₹165 crore, Karnataka was the first State in the country to undertake the survey after the national exercise conducted by the British in 1931. Bihar and Telangana have done the survey after Karnataka completed the survey.
