Not opposed to caste survey, says Shivakumar after Kharge takes exception to his stand

PTI, Dec 12, 2023, 7:38 PM IST

Belagavi: Following Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge reportedly taking exception to his stand on the caste census issue, Karnataka Deputy Chief D K Shivakumar on Tuesday clarified that he is not opposed to it, but wants it to be done in a scientific and systematic manner.

Reacting to BJP MP Sushil Kumar Modi’s statement in Rajya Sabha that Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister Shivakumar himself signed a petition urging the government to junk the caste census, Kharge on Monday said, “all upper castes are united on this.”

Karnataka’s two dominant communities — Vokkaliags and Lingayats — have expressed reservations about the survey, calling it unscientific and have demanded that it be rejected and a fresh survey be conducted.

Shivakumar, who is also the state Congress President, is from the Vokkaliga community. He was a signatory, along with a couple of other Ministers, to a memorandum submitted by the community to the Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, requesting to reject the report along with the data.

All-India Veerashaiva Mahasabha, the apex body of Veerashaiva-Lingayats, which has also expressed its disapproval vis-a-vis the survey calling it unscientific, and demanded conduct of a fresh survey, is headed by veteran Congress leader and MLA Shamanuru Shivashankarappa.

“I have not opposed it anywhere. It is our party policy and our government did it (census) in Karnataka…My apprehension is that a lot of our legislators and a lot of our ministers…we spoke…we want proper census, because census has to be done in a very systematic way,” Shivakumar said.

Speaking to reporters here, he said his own house was not covered during the caste census, which was commissioned in 2015 during the previous Siddaramaiah-led Congress government. “No one came and asked me. I also checked with so many legislators.”

“It should happen systematically, because once the census happens, they (people) should get rights properly according to population. For example — Minorities — as per their population they will ask for their rights. For SCs and STs in our state, we have legislation that funds should be allocated based on their population. Like that, we are asking for a justification….there should be a proper, scientific approach on this,” he added.

The then Siddaramaiah-led Congress government (2013-2018) in 2015 had commissioned the social-economic and educational survey, popularly known as the “caste census”, at an estimated cost of Rs 170 crore in the state.

The state Backward Classes Commission under its then chairperson H Kantharaju was tasked with preparing a caste census report. The survey work was completed in 2018, towards the end of Siddaramaiah’s first tenure as Chief Minister, but was not accepted or made public.

Stating that he fully endorsed the Congress party’s commitment to all sections of society, Shivakumar, pointing at his own backward class identity, said, “I’m a backward class man, as Vokkaligas are backward class. but being a party president I will have to look at every section of society, that’s more important.”

“We standby the commitment of the Congress party –Mallikarjun Kharge or Rahul Gandhi — whatever they have said. Karnataka is the pioneer state in starting this type of thing (caste census),” he said.

Pointing out that the biggest problem was that the then secretary of the state Backward Classes Commission didn’t sign the report, the DCM said, “Whether the report (without signature) will be valid or not is the big question. I think the new Chairman who has been given the responsibility will rectify the mistakes.”

The Karnataka State Commission for Backward Classes under its current Chairman K Jayaprakash Hegde, which has the caste census findings, has been given time till January 31, 2024 to submit the report to the government.

With pressure mounting on his government, from a certain section, to make public the state’s survey, after the Bihar government released findings of its caste survey recently, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has said that a decision will be taken once he receives the report.

But, the survey is mired in controversies even before the report is submitted to the government, amid deep divisions within the ruling Congress, stiff opposition by the two dominant communities against its acceptance, and the survey’s original “work-sheet” copy missing.

With strong disapproval from the two politically influential communities, the survey report may turn out to be a political hot potato for the government, as it may set the stage for a confrontation, with Dalits and OBCs among others demanding it be made public.