Siddaramaiah said Karnataka was the first state to conduct a caste census. (File)
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said on Sunday that his government will officially accept the caste census report once the chairman of the Commission for Backward Classes presents it.
"Jayaprakash Hegde, chairman of the Commission for Backward Classes, will present the report on the caste census. We will accept it," Siddaramaiah said while speaking at the Prerana Samarabha organized by Kalidasa Health and Education Trust and Ahilya Foundation in Bengaluru.
Siddaramaiah said that Karnataka was the first state to conduct a caste census in the country.
"Our government was the first to conduct a caste census in the entire country. I got the caste census with the objective of knowing the economic, social and economic status of each caste. The following governments did not accept the census report," the Chief Minister said.
The Chief Minister said that talent is not confined to caste and religion and education is important for nurturing talent.
"If opportunity and advantages of education are given to everyone, talent will follow for sure. Therefore, education is very important to live as good citizens with self-respect," Siddaramaiah said.
The Chief Minister also appealed that everyone should be educated and they must help those who are deprived of education.
"We have to work hard for the society that has helped us. No one can achieve anything without hard work and goals," he said.
Siddaramaiah said that BR Ambedkar made it possible for the Shudra community and girls to receive education.
"Before the arrival of the British, education was prohibited for the Shudra communities. Girls of upper castes were not given education before. Ambedkar gave the right to education to the Shudra community and girls. This history should be understood properly," he claimed.
The Chief Minister said that it would be unscientific for the community to establish a medical college as it is expensive. Instead, he said that the community should establish paramedical colleges, hostels and ITIs (Industrial Training Institutes) to help the poor.
"It is unscientific to establish a medical college by the community. Since running a medical college is expensive, it cannot offer free seats to poor and rural students. Therefore if the community establishes paramedical colleges, hostels and ITIs, it will help the poor and rural children," he said.
The Chief Minister recalled his days as a graduation student when he used to get curry from the hotel and have it with rice cooked in his room for dinner.
"There are thousands of students in such a condition. So I started the Vidyasiri programme," he said.
Speaking about vacancies in the post of rural doctors, Siddaramaiah said the state government will amend the rules to fill them up.
"Earlier, the number of doctors was less, and the posts were high in number in the rural areas. But now the situation has changed, the number of doctors is more than the number of vacant posts. Therefore, the government has decided to amend the rules to fill up the vacant posts of rural doctors," he said.
Siddaramaiah was speaking at a program held to honour and distribute scholarships to medical students from backward classes in the presence of Siddharamamananda Swamiji of Kanaka Gurupeeth.
Urban Development Minister Bairathi Suresh, Chief Minister's Political Secretary Govindaraju, former corporator B N Nitish Purushottam and other dignitaries were also present at the occasion.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)