‘Wrong, disobedience due to misinformation’: CM Siddaramaiah slams Sudha Murty for opting out of caste survey

BENGALURU: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Friday criticised Rajya Sabha MP Sudha Murty and her husband and Infosys founder Narayana Murthy for refusing to participate in the State government’s caste-based socio-economic survey.

Calling Sudha Murty’s understanding of the exercise “wrong,” Siddaramiah said that the couple’s decision stemmed from misinformation. He questioned whether they would also decline to cooperate if the Centre undertook a similar caste survey.

“It is wrong to think of the survey as a survey of the backward classes”, Siddaramaiah told reporters. “The central government will also conduct a caste census in the coming days. Will they still not cooperate? They may be showing such disobedience due to the misinformation they have. The state has a population of about seven crore, and this is an economic, educational and social survey of these people”.

He further stated that the initiative involved people from all sections. “This is a survey that is being done, including the entire population. Under the Shakti Yojana, the poor and the upper castes will all be included. There is misinformation about this. The government has conveyed the messages of the ministers and the chief minister to the people through advertisements. It’s a survey of seven crore people of the state,” he said.

Earlier on Thursday, Minister Priyank Kharge also expressed his disappointment over Sudha Murty opting out of Karnataka’s socio-economic survey. He said it was surprising that a member of parliament would make such statements. He questioned whether Murty’s decision was influenced by BJP leaders, given her association with the party.

Speaking to reporters, Priyank Kharge said, “The Caste Census is a government initiative. First of all, it is a survey that includes a wealth of additional information. It is surprising that a member of parliament makes such statements. Clearly, I think it is inspired by other BJP leaders or the co-direction, saying it is voluntary, but more is expected from people like them because they inspire many generations and continue to do so. However, saying that I will not participate in a government survey is not right. You could have refused to answer a few questions at most.”

This comes after Sudha Murty, in a self-attested letter to the Karnataka State Backward Classes Commission, stated that the family’s refusal to participate in the survey was due to their belief that they do not belong to a backward community and therefore would not participate in this survey.

In the letter, Narayana Murthy and Sudha Murty stated that they were refusing to provide personal details. “We and our family will not participate in the census, and we are confirming it through this letter,” the letter read.

Karnataka’s socio-economic and educational survey began on September 22 and concluded on October 12 across most districts. The exercise in Bengaluru will continue till October 24, following an extension from the original October 7 deadline. The survey aims to enumerate around seven crore people in the state and gain insight into their social and economic status within society. (ANI)