Caste Census Report Submitted To Karnataka Cabinet

The Karnataka State Commission for Backward Classes has submitted the caste census (socio, economic and educational survey) report to the state cabinet.

The report will be discussed in the next cabinet meeting on April 17.

The caste census report, the second by a Congress-ruled state - after Telangana - has already attracted criticism from the opposition BJP, which has called it an attempt to "sow discord for someone's benefit".

"The people conducting the caste census did not visit every household. This report has been prepared under Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's instructions. Since it has political motives, no one will accept it. I am also saying that a caste census should be conducted, but this report was designed to sow discord among castes for someone's benefit. This is exactly what the Congress wants," said R Ashoka, Leader of the Opposition in the Karnataka Assembly.

Sources said the final report, submitted after Jayaprakash Hegde took over as the Backward Classes Commission's Chairperson, is in two sets. The first set includes the complete report of the 2015 caste survey, caste-wise population data, constituency-wise caste data and the analytical report on the 2015 caste survey data, which was published last year.

The second set has socio-educational and economic data of castes and communities and data on education, employment, and political representation from secondary sources, among others. 

A total of 50 volumes were opened in the Cabinet meeting on Friday and a detailed discussion on the report will be held on April 17. A decision on implementation is also expected to be taken during the next Cabinet meeting.

Backward Class Development Minister Shivaraj Tangadagi said the report covers 5.98 crore people from 1.38 crore families.

"It encompasses 94.77 per cent of people. Only 5.23 per cent of people are out of its ambit," the minister was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.

'Revolutionary Step'

The discussion on the caste survey in Karnataka, which was conducted nearly a decade ago, follows the successful completion of the caste census in Telangana, which is also a Congress-ruled state.

Earlier this week, Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi had praised the caste census in Telangana and used it to attack the BJP.

"We took a revolutionary step of caste census in Telangana. A few months before that, I had told PM Narendra Modi in Parliament that we should get a caste census done in the country... I wanted to know who had what share in this country and whether this country truly respected the tribal, Dalit, and backward communities... They clearly refused the caste census because they don't want to reveal the share that minorities get in this country," Mr Gandhi had said.