Cabinet meeting on Caste Census report on April 17: CM Siddaramaiah

BENGALURU: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Monday said that a special cabinet meeting has been called on April 17 to discuss the Caste Census report.

Siddaramaiah also told mediapersons that their government will work hard to “build the kind of society that Babasaheb Ambedkar wanted to build.”

“Our government will work hard to build the kind of society that Babasaheb Ambedkar wanted to build…A special cabinet meeting has been called to discuss the Caste Census report on 17th April. It will be a single-subject discussion,” Siddaramaiah said.

Yesterday, Union Minister HD Kumaraswamy accused Siddaramaiah of using the caste census as a political gimmick to divert public attention from the Congress government’s failures.

Speaking to mediapersons near Freedom Park, Kumaraswamy said, “There is no meaning to the caste census report that is now being brandished. The Kantharaj Commission’s report was prepared a decade ago. Why wasn’t it implemented all this while? Now, with the public outrage over failed guarantees, rampant corruption, and price hikes reaching a boiling point, the government is trying to mislead people with the drama of the caste census.”

“If you truly want a caste census, then conduct a fresh survey and submit a new report. The last 10 years have brought significant demographic changes,” Kumaraswamy stated. He accused the Congress of exploiting caste for political gain, warning that this divisive agenda could create social unrest.

Earlier in the day, Karnataka Minister Priyank Kharge slammed the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), calling its members “stooges of RSS” in reference to their stance on minority rights and caste-based allocation, following a report on the state’s caste census.

He accused the BJP leaders of not understanding the Constitution and aligning with the RSS ideology, which he claimed does not prioritise equality.

Speaking to mediapersons, Kharge said, “Muslims are minorities as per the Constitution. They (BJP) don’t understand the Constitution… The Parliament has already declared Muslims as minorities. The problem lies with CT Ravi and the BJP — they don’t understand or want to read the Constitution properly.”

The Karnataka State Commission for Backward Classes has submitted the caste census (socio, economic, and educational survey) report to the Siddaramaiah-led cabinet. If released, the caste census report will be the second by a Congress-ruled state after Telangana. (ANI)