Caste census gives more ammo to BJP to attack Congress on Muslim appeasement

BENGALURU: The Karnataka government is facing criticism for allegedly appeasing Muslims after the caste census report showed Muslims as the largest community in the state with a population of 75.25 lakh.

The BJP will use the caste census as a tool to prick the Congress-led government and leaders. The report counted all Muslim sub-sects under one category, whereas Lingayat and Vokkaliga communities have separate counts for their sub-sects.

This controversy has put the CM Siddaramaiah government in a tight spot, with BJP accusing them of trying to appease Muslims for vote bank politics. The opposition party has seized this report to corner the government.

The controversy surrounds the methodology of the caste census report, which has sparked a debate about the government’s intentions and the accuracy of the report. The government is now under pressure to clarify its stance on this issue.

The BJP claims that all the subgroups are shown as the Muslim community as one in the report. However, the report does not mention the total population of Veerashaiva, Lingayat and Vokkaliga communities. The Lingayat and Vokkaliga sub-groups are divided, and their separate populations are not mentioned.

The BJP plans to use this issue as a key point to criticise the government, accusing them of Muslim appeasement. This development has added to the existing controversies surrounding the government’s decisions related to the Muslim community.