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Time of India
2 hours ago
- Politics
- Time of India
Karnataka: AICC asks CM to take up fresh caste survey, complete in set timeline
The AICC leadership on Tuesday asked Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to take up a fresh round of enumeration of castes based on the Telangana model since the data gathered is about 10 years old, while agreeing 'in principle' the state's caste census exercise and throwing the party's weight behind it. AICC general secretary (organization) KC Venugopal told media that the party has suggested to the CM to do a 're-enumeration' of castes as sections of communities have cast doubts over the counts, and the party too felt the data itself was 10-year-old. The party has left it to the state government to work out on finer details such as the stipulated period in which the exercise must be completed. The CM has convened a special Cabinet meeting on June 12 to discuss the caste census exercise. The AICC leadership has pushed the Siddaramaiah government to model the upcoming census on the lines of socio-economic, education, employment, political and caste (SEEEPC) survey the Congress regime in Telangana conducted. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Invest today with in Shriram's ULIP Shriram Life Insurance Undo AICC president Mallikarjuna Kharge, leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi , AICC general secretaries KC Venugopal and RS Surjewala discussed the subject with Siddaramaiah and Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president DK Shivakumar and suggested the way forward to pursue Gandhi's idea. The government has spent Rs 160 crore on the earlier report which would now be junked. Live Events Deputy CM DK Shivakumar said the party leadership has vetted the inputs given by ministers and community leaders and religious mutt heads and told the government to ensure fairness to all communities. The government will deploy officials who will visit every household and gather data. The CM will decide on a timeline for completion. A few ministers representing the dominant Lingayat and Vokkaliga communities had conveyed in an earlier Cabinet meeting that the sub-caste wise dissection, they said, had suggested a sharp drop in the population of their communities while the reality was otherwise. They had been upset that the enumerators had shown the entire Muslim population as one combined community without a sub-caste wise slicing, a treatment denied to other dominant communities. Lingayat Ministers from North Karnataka MB Patil and Laxmi Hebbalkar have openly disagreed with the numbers of the earlier survey. Lingayats population, Patil had said, was more than 10 million in the state, far higher than what the report had indicated. In November 2023, Dy CM DK Shivakumar and his cabinet colleague N Cheluvarayaswamy signed a petition urging the CM not to accept the caste census report.
NDTV
3 hours ago
- Politics
- NDTV
Congress Has Asked For New Caste Survey In Karnataka: DK Shivakumar
Bengaluru: The Congress central leadership has ordered that a new caste survey be held in in Karnataka, said the party's senior leader and the state's Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar today. Mr Shivakumar, who is in Delhi with his boss, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, said, "The high command has advised the CM and me to ensure that everyone is heard as far as the caste survey is concerned". The survey should be done in a way that no one feels left out, the central leadership has said, after several MLAs, ministers and MPs flagged these issues. "We will give fresh opportunity to everyone who felt they were left out in the earlier caste survey," he added. The state cabinet "will discuss this, plan and then ensure justice to all," he said. The last caste survey in the state, conducted in 2015 during the earlier term of Mr Siddaramaiah, has drawn controversy with many sections disputing the findings. The data, formally submitted in April this year, had deepened the fault lines between the key Vokkaliga and Veerashaiva-Lingayat communities and other backward class communities. It had also recommended re-classification of castes on basis of socio-economic and educational parameters. Instead of the current five categories, it had recommended six and proposed the removal of exemption from creamy layer policy for castes in Category 1, which are the "most backward". The conclusions of the survey had drawn opposition from within the Congress, with Vokkaliga and Lingayat leaders contending that that their communities were under-represented.
NDTV
29-05-2025
- Politics
- NDTV
In Karnataka, Siddaramaiah vs DK Shivakumar Rift Grows Over Transfers?
Bengaluru: Jostling between Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and his deputy, DK Shivakumar - who went head-to-head two years ago, after the Congress' big win - seems to be continuing. This time the face-off is over the transfer of five senior engineers from the Public Works Department, which sits within the Water Resources Ministry that is headed by Shivakumar. The transfers came the Department of Personnel that operates under Siddaramaiah. An irked Shivakumar then shot off a formal letter to Chief Secretary Shalini Rajneesh, directing her to "immediately withdraw" the notification. The Deputy Chief Minister declared the transfers had been ordered without his knowledge; in his letter he reminded Ms Rajneesh of a gentleman's agreement when the Congress government was formed, that "no transfers or appointments related to my department can be made without my explicit approval". According to reports, the engineers transferred included someone due to retire at the end of this month. The notification had directed the new engineer to report ahead of schedule. Siddaramaiah hasn't yet responded to Shivakumar's letter, which underlines the latest spot of tension between the Congress' two senior-most leaders in the state. Earlier the two clashed over other bureaucratic issues, including cabinet allocation, portfolios, and appointments to boards and corporations. The hostility has been contained, somewhat. However, the increasing frequency and intensity of these clashes could now start to affect the state government's functioning and hand the Congress a problem it just does not need, particularly with critical elections in Bihar this year and in Bengal and Tamil Nadu the next. Siddaramaiah-Shivakumar Story In May 2023 the Congress was jubilant. The had just party coasted to a surprisingly dominant win - picking up a record 137 of 244 seats and nearly 43 per cent of the popular vote - in the Karnataka election, robbing the Bharatiya Janata Party of the only southern state in its pocket. There was celebration and joy and praise aplenty all around, including for Rahul Gandhi and a 'Bharat Jodo Yatra', but, behind the scenes, there was discontent brewing at the very top. Senior leaders Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar were both angling to become the next Chief Minister. Each believed they had an undeniable claim - Siddaramaiah as former holder of the post and Shivakumar with the weight of the influential Vokkaliga community behind him. Shivakumar has always been open about wanting to become Chief Minister. Eventually, after burning the midnight oil, a détente was reached; Siddaramaiah was made Chief Minister and Shivakumar was to be his deputy. Sources then spoke of a 'power-sharing deal' - Siddaramaiah would be Chief Minister for the first half and Shivakumar the second. NDTV ARCHIVES | 3 Reasons Why Siddaramaiah, DKS Both Won In Karnataka Talk of such a deal was later rubbished by all concerned; Siddaramaiah thundered in November, "Who made the confusing statement... I'm the chief minister, I will continue." There was, though, no peace to be found for the Congress. Over the next three years speculation of the Siddaramaiah-Shivakumar rift continued to circulate periodically, requiring each side (and the Congress) to put out disclaimers. In January 2025 Shivakumar once again played down talk of a power struggle, saying Karnataka voters had "blessed" the Congress and that Siddaramaiah and he would serve out their terms.' "No one should worry... there is no need for any political turn. Talk going on is without value. The Chief Minister and I will continue functioning as per the directions of the party," he said. With input from agencies
Indian Express
27-05-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
Karnataka BJP expels party MLAs Shivaram Hebbar and S T Somashekar for 6 years over ‘indiscipline'
The BJP's Central Disciplinary Committee Tuesday expelled two party legislators, A Shivaram Hebbar and S T Somashekar, for six years for 'repeated violations of the party discipline'. The action against the BJP MLAs was based on their response to a showcase notice issued by the party Committee on March 25 this year. Before this, the Bharatiya Janata Party expelled firebrand party MLA Basangouda Patil Yatnal from its ranks for six years in March this year. Though both were ministers under the erstwhile BJP rule, Hebbar and Somashekar were on the fringes of the party after the Congress came to power. They were previously in the Congress, and had joined the BJP during the 2019 'Operation Lotus' which saw the defection of 17 Congress and JD(S) MLAs. The two MLAs, especially Somashekar, caused an embarrassment for the state BJP unit by defying party diktats. In the Karnataka Assembly, the Yeshwantpur MLA backed several Bills tabled by the Congress government, which the BJP had opposed. He had also refused to walk out with the BJP legislators during their protests inside the House. The trouble for the two started in February 2024 when Somashekar cross-voted for Congress candidates during the Rajya Sabha polls, and Hebbar abstained. Their rebellion was an agenda for the state core committee during its meeting held in December 2024, as they had 'identified themselves with the Congress'. Somashekar and Hebbar, who are three-time MLAs, had also backed Congress candidates during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Though this had not ensured victory for Congress candidates in constituencies, which they were part of, it had attracted the wrath of the BJP leadership. Somashekar was once considered close to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. He was associated with Deputy CM D K Shivakumar, a Vokkaliga leader like himself, since Congress came to power in 2023. Somashekar had served as the chairman of the Bangalore Development Authority during the year-long Kumaraswamy regime between 2018 and 2019. Post his switch to the BJP, he held the cooperation portfolio in the B S Yediyurappa and Basavaraj Bommai cabinets. Hebbar hails from Yellapur in the Uttara Kannada district of the state. He, along with Somashekar, is said to have felt sidelined after the BJP lost the recent Assembly elections, and Yediyurappa's influence on the state unit of the party waned. With the two expulsions, the strength of the BJP in the Karnataka Assembly declined to 62. While three MLAs were suspended this year, former CM Basavaraj Bommai had quit as MLA after he won the Lok Sabha polls in 2024.
Time of India
27-05-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
DK Suresh sets sights on KMF chair, ignites Congress turf war
Bengaluru: DK Suresh may have engineered a win for Congress-backed candidates in polls to Bangalore Milk Union Ltd (Bamul) board, a move that has strengthened the former Lok Sabha MP's bid to secure the Karnataka Milk Federation (KMF) chairman post, but rather than be a source of joy for his party, it has reignited a factional feud within. Supporters of deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar are pushing for his brother Suresh to head KMF, while chief minister Siddaramaiah's camp is backing Malur MLA KY Nanje Gowda. The clash is deepening tensions in the party, already strained by the reported unresolved issue of a power-sharing pact. The situation is further complicated by current KMF chairman LBP Bheema Naik's claim that Siddaramaiah had assured him of another term. KMF governs 16 milk unions in the state and as per its bylaws, chairpersons of unions become directors on its board. A KMF chairman is elected from among them. So far, 15 of the 16 unions have completed elections. The final one — Kolar Milk Union Ltd (Komul) — will vote on June 25. The KMF chairman election will likely be in the first week of July. Bamul's new board will elect its chairperson on June 10. With 11 of 14 members backed by Congress, Suresh is expected to take over. BJP has two members on the board and JD(S) has one. "We have Suresh at the forefront. We need his presence to strengthen KMF," said HS Rajkumar, outgoing Bamul chairman. "Party seniors may have promised somebody in the context of that time, but circumstances have changed now. Suresh will be elected chairman. Nobody can stop him." Shivakumar appears determined to bring his brother back into the spotlight after his 2024 Lok Sabha defeat to BJP from Bangalore Rural and the KMF post appears ideal. It is politically significant, since the federation oversees 25 lakh milk producers across Karnataka. It has historically been a powerful platform too. Former PM HD Deve Gowda's son HD Revanna led KMF for 13 years until 2009, using it to strengthen rural and Vokkaliga base of JD(S). Shivakumar now appears to be eyeing a similar strategy. "Many want me to take over as KMF chairman," said Suresh. "But that requires due procedure and consensus among various stakeholders, including party seniors. Let us wait and see." However, Siddaramaiah loyalists are pushing back. They have reportedly urged the CM not to yield to pressure from Shivakumar's camp. Urban development minister Byrathi Suresh, a Siddaramaiah supporter, recently said the CM will serve a full five-year term, challenging an alleged power-sharing formula. Meanwhile, Nanje Gowda remains firm on his claim. "Even the deputy CM assured me of the post. I hope he and the CM will not go back on their word. I've served the dairy sector for 38 years and I deserve the post," he said.
