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The Hindu
3 hours 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decision, the caste census of 2015 — which had been conducted for the first time during the colonial times in 1931 — is no longer valid.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.
India Today
5 hours ago
- Politics
- India Today
Karnataka Cabinet orders caste re-survey within 90 days citing 10-year gap
The Karnataka Cabinet has unanimously decided to conduct a fresh Socio-Economic and Education Survey report, often referred to as the 'Karnataka caste census', citing the expiry of the ten-year period since the last such exercise. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah confirmed the decision following a Cabinet meeting that deliberated exclusively on the recommendations of the state's Backward Classes Commission, which had submitted its final report earlier this explained that the original survey was launched during his previous tenure as Chief Minister in 2015 and was carried out between April 11 and May 30 of that year. 'On 57 grounds we visited the houses and conducted the survey and submitted the survey,' he said, noting that around 1.6 lakh personnel were involved. The survey covered 5.98 crore people, a figure close to the projected population of 6.3 crore for 2015, up from 6.11 crore in the 2011 added that the recommendations were finalised by 2018, but due to a change in government and subsequent political decisions, the report was not accepted. 'In 2018, our party lost and I tendered the resignation. There was a coalition government. JDS chief Kumaraswamy was the new Chief Minister. The report was completed by then. C Puttarangashetty was then commissioner. Kumarswamy insisted not to take the report,' Siddaramaiah After the tenure of H Kantharaj, who chaired the earlier commission in 2015, Jayaprakash Hegde was appointed to lead the body, with BJP-appointed members forming the rest of the panel. The final recommendations, based on the Kantharaj report, were submitted on February 29, 2024. However, with the Model Code of Conduct in force due to the Lok Sabha elections, the Cabinet could not take it up until after the said that senior Congress leaders, including Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi, KC Venugopal and Randeep Surjewala, held consultations with him and Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar on the matter. 'They suggested the report was prepared and ready in 2015. It's been 10 years already. According to the Backward Classes Act 1995, it's very clear that a new survey is to be conducted after 10 years,' he Section 11 of Clause 1 of the Act, Siddaramaiah said the Cabinet decided that the time had legally come to undertake a new exercise. 'We did not bow down to the high command. We are taking this decision according to the law,' he said. He also reiterated that Kumaraswamy had previously refused to receive the report and had even threatened Puttarangashetty. The BJP government that followed also did not accept the that the report has formally been received and reviewed, the Cabinet has decided to authorise the commission to conduct a new survey within 90 Chief Minister DK Shivakumar said, 'The Chief Minister has already explained the decision taken in the Cabinet. It's clear—this is about the backward classes section. Once in 10 years, such things need to be revisited. The original survey was conducted from April 11, 2015, to May 30, 2015, and now it's already 10 years old.'He added that the survey would reflect current socio-economic realities, as population patterns, education levels, and public demands had changed. 'We want to do justice to everyone,' he said. Shivakumar also noted that the Backward Classes Commission would be given three months to complete the task and that the process would be made accessible online, allowing participation from Kannadigas residing in other states.'I don't want to comment on anything specific—this is a 10-year-old issue, and it needs to be addressed now,' Shivakumar said. IN THIS STORY#Karnataka
Indian Express
2 days ago
- Politics
- Indian Express
Congress tells Siddaramaiah govt to recount castes to assuage ‘fears', cites ‘old data'
The Congress high command directed the party's government in Karnataka Tuesday to conduct a recount of castes, two months after the findings of a report on a 10-year-old survey created a rift in the party and drew criticism from the politically dominant Vokkaliga and Lingayat communities and some non-Kuruba backward classes. The decision on a recount was taken at a meeting Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi held with Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy CM D K Shivakumar in Delhi. AICC general secretary (Organisation) K C Venugopal and AICC general secretary in-charge of Karnataka Randeep Surjewala were also present. Apart from the caste census conundrum, Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar, who is also the Karnataka Congress president, had been summoned by the leadership to Delhi to discuss the political fallout of the recent stampede in Bengaluru which claimed 11 lives. The Opposition has blamed the warring CM and his deputy for the breakdown of systems that led to the stampede and, as per sources, the two were pulled up by the high command. Ever since Siddaramaiah placed a report on the Socio-Economic and Education Survey before the Cabinet in April – incidentally two days after the AICC Session in Ahmedabad where the party leadership was fulsome in its praise for the caste survey conducted by the Telangana government – politics in Karnataka has been on the boil, with the party and the Cabinet also divided on the issue. On Tuesday, the Congress leadership asked the Siddaramaiah government to accord 'in-principle' approval to the survey, conducted in the first half of 2015, but conduct enumeration afresh within three months. The survey report, data and recommendations were submitted by the Karnataka State Commission for Backward Classes in 2024. However, both its recommendations and population data had immediately come under question, with objections ranging from 'undercounting' to the categorisation of some castes as most backward. Both Vokkaliga and Lingayat organisations demanded a fresh survey, after their population was found to be a little over 10% and close to 11%, respectively, much less than estimated so far. The Vokkaligas (Shivakumar is one) and Lingayats currently enjoy reservation under the III A and III B categories of the OBC quota. The non-Kuruba backward classes took objection to the recommendation that the Kurubas – a community to which Siddaramaiah belongs – be moved from 'more backward' to 'most backward' category. With the total population of backward classes in the state estimated to be as high as 70%, the non-Kuruba leaders, including of the Congress, have expressed the fear that the OBC reservation benefits will be cornered by the Kurubas. Other leaders argued that the data, collected in 2015, was old and did not reflect current ground reality. Sources said that the Congress high command felt these were serious objections and needed to be addressed. But it wants this done on a priority basis. At Tuesday's meeting, it was underlined to Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar that the Telangana caste survey was completed in under three months. Siddaramaiah had earlier called for a special Cabinet meeting on June 12 to discuss the report. Now, the meeting in all likelihood will accept the report 'in principle' and discuss the modalities and timeline for the fresh enumeration. A previous such meeting, held soon after the report was submitted in April, had ended with Siddaramaiah directing his Cabinet colleagues to submit 'written opinions' on the report. Recently, after a Cabinet meeting, the CM said that the opinion of all the ministers is yet to be received. While the Siddaramaiah government has reasons to be wary given the fear of a backlash, any delay is a tricky issue for the Congress, given its commitment to a caste census and its focus on OBCs. However, sources said, Rahul Gandhi, who has been asking the party to aggressively reach out to OBCs, Dalits and tribals, was clear that the caste data should be foolproof and the exercise be seen as credible, so that the party could highlight it across the country. 'The Congress party is thinking that whatever the Karnataka government has done on caste census… that has to be agreed in principle. But there are apprehensions among some sections of the community and people about the counting of castes. The caste census was conducted 10 years ago, that data is a bit old. Therefore, we have suggested to the Chief Minister to do a re-enumeration within a stipulated time, like 60-70 or 80 days,' Venugopal told reporters after the meeting. Siddaramaiah said the re-enumeration exercise will be completed within 90 days. He also said that this was needed as the data collected by the 2015 survey was old, though 'we have to accept the report in principle'. Incidentally, the 2015 survey had been carried out under Siddaramaiah's first tenure as CM. Siddaramaiah said that the enumeration will be along the lines of the survey being carried out for Scheduled Castes in the state, which is being done ahead of provision of internal reservation among SCs. On the stampede that led to 11 deaths, Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar were questioned by the high command over the decision to celebrate the maiden IPL title victory of Royal Challengers Bangalore on a weekday. Sources said Kharge and Gandhi also expressed their displeasure over the involvement of the state government in the celebrations. A source said Gandhi told Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar that human lives are of 'great value' to the Congress and the government has to be responsive towards people, 'unlike the BJP government in Uttar Pradesh or the Left government in Kerala, where no responsibility was taken for the loss of lives during the Kumbh and Sabarimala tragedy respectively'. The CM was told to handhold the families who have lost their loved ones and put in place a full protocol for crowd management to prevent such mishaps from recurring. 'Certainly, we are concerned about every life. The Karnataka government has ordered a judicial inquiry into the unfortunate incident. The party clearly believes there should be a pro-people attitude regarding the issue,' Venugopal said.
Indian Express
2 days ago
- Politics
- Indian Express
Karnataka govt to recount castes to assuage ‘fears', Congress cites ‘old data' for move
THE CONGRESS has told the Karnataka government to hold re-enumeration of various communities while giving 'in-principle' approval to a report on a survey done on castes in the state. Speaking to reporters after a meeting of Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy CM D K Shivakumar with the high command in Delhi, Congress general secretary K C Venugopal acknowledged 'apprehensions' among some groups regarding the survey report. The report, submitted by the Karnataka State Commission for Backward Classes on the basis of a Socio-Economic and Education Survey carried out in 2015, has seen protests by the Lingayats and Vokkaligas over its finding that the two dominant communities do not hold as big a share of the population as once presumed, and that around 70% of the state's population comprises Other Backward Classes (OBCs). While the report was submitted in April, the Siddaramaiah government is yet to take action on the issue for fear of a backlash. However, any delay is a tricky issue for the Congress, given its commitment to a caste census and its focus on OBCs, underlined at the AICC Session this year. Venugopal said: 'On the issue of caste census, the Congress party is (of the view) that whatever the Karnataka government has done on caste census has to be agreed to in principle. But, there are apprehensions from some sections of society about the counting of castes. Since the census was done 10 years earlier, the data is a little bit old. So, we suggested to the CM that re-enumeration be done within a stipulated time.' Siddaramaiah said the re-enumeration exercise will be completed within 90 days. He also said that this was needed as the data collected by the 2015 survey was old, though 'we have to accept the report in principle'. Incidentally, the 2015 survey had been carried out under Siddaramaiah's first tenure as CM. Siddaramaiah also said that the enumeration will be along the lines of the survey being carried out for Scheduled Castes in the state, which is being done ahead of provision of internal reservation among SCs. The directions by the high command come two days ahead of a special Cabinet meeting scheduled by Siddaramaiah to discuss the caste report. A previous such meeting, held soon after the report was submitted in April, had ended with Siddaramaiah directing his Cabinet colleagues to submit 'written opinions' on the report. Recently, after a Cabinet meeting, the CM said that the opinion of all the ministers is yet to be received. With the Karnataka CM and his deputy meeting the high command days after the Bengaluru stampede that left 11 dead, and which has been blamed by the Opposition on the two, the issue was expected to figure high in the talks. Venugopal said the issue did come up for discussion. 'Certainly, we are concerned about every life. The Karnataka government has ordered a judicial inquiry into the unfortunate incident. The party clearly believes there should be a pro-people attitude regarding the issue,' he said. The Congress leader also accused the Narendra Modi-led Central government of 'completely neglecting' Karnataka in terms of allocations for various schemes. 'They are marginalising Karnataka. The Modi government is doing this type of injustice… it is not at all acceptable,' he said.
