Siddaramaiah questions Centre’s timing of caste census move
Chief minister Siddaramaiah termed the move as politically motivated and was possibly linked to the forthcoming elections in Bihar
A day after the Centre included caste enumeration in the national census, chief minister Siddaramaiah termed the move as politically motivated and was possibly linked to the forthcoming elections in Bihar. He also said that it was important to conduct a thorough socio-economic and educational survey.
At a press interaction in Bengaluru, Siddaramaiah said there was a long-standing demand for a caste census and referred to the Congress’s manifesto, which includes a socio-economic and educational survey. “We also included in the manifesto, as well... I feel they might have kept the Bihar election in their mind too,” he said on Thursday while pointing out the urgency with which the Centre appeared to have acted.
He credited Rahul Gandhi’s sustained advocacy for the breakthrough and said: “I congratulate Rahul Gandhi more because, for the last five years, he has been urging the central government to conduct a caste census.”
The chief minister also reminded that Karnataka had already undertaken a similar exercise during his previous tenure. “In 2015, we conducted a caste survey under the Kantharaj committee, spending ₹192 crore with 1.65 lakh people involved, including 1.33 lakh (133,000) enumerators. However, after our government’s term ended, neither Yediyurappa nor Bommai acted on it despite our pressure,” he said.
For the Census, the Union cabinet’s decision announced on Wednesday, caste-based data will be collected as part of the upcoming decadal census. Union minister for information and broadcasting Ashwini Vaishnaw said the move aims to ensure consistency and avoid political misuse. “While some states have conducted surveys to enumerate castes... these surveys have varied in transparency and intent... it has been decided that caste enumeration should be included in the main census instead of being conducted as a separate survey,” he said at a media briefing.
The announcement drew mixed responses from political leaders in Karnataka. Minister for minor irrigation NS Boseraju questioned the delay by the Modi government and said: “We are asking why it took 11 years for Prime Minister Modi to arrive at this decision... There should not be a situation where the union government starts casting aspersions on the work done by the state governments.”
Echoing similar reservations, labour minister Santosh Lad said: “We welcome the decision... But we are questioning the timing... The world is watching us, especially the Narendra Modi-led government on what our next steps are going to be after the attack in Pahalgam. Announcing the caste census at such a juncture appears to be a case of diverting people’s attention.”
He also pointed to Rahul Gandhi’s earlier calls for a national caste census, suggesting that the Centre was now repackaging the Congress’s proposals. “All these while they have been critiquing our programs... Now they are changing its name and making it their project.”
State BJP president BY Vijayendra defended the Centre’s move, calling it long overdue. “Since 1931, there has been no caste census in the country. Narendra Modi wants justice for all citizen and all communities,” he said. Taking a dig at the Congress, he added, “Even though Congress was in power for several years, they had not taken up this task.”
Vijayendra also dismissed suggestions that the BJP was borrowing from Congress’s agenda. “The Prime Minister has no need for us to take pointers from the Congress party,” he said.
On the state government’s previous survey, he questioned the report’s legitimacy, stating that the government lacks the original Kantharaj Committee report. “The government doesn’t have a copy of the Kantharaju report (original chair of the Socio-Economic and Educational Survey committee). Jayaprakash Hegde (who succeeded him) wrote a letter to the government saying they don’t have a copy of the original report. So on what basis has this currently has been submitted before the cabinet,” he asked.
Responding to BJP’s past criticism of caste surveys, Siddaramaiah earlier remarked: “Conducting a caste census increases caste conflicts and divides society; the caste census is a conspiracy to split Hindu society—this is the criticism that the BJP and its led governments have been making for years, and their finally understanding the social importance of the caste census is a welcome development.”
