Bengaluru:
Criticizing the report of caste census before the Karnataka Cabinet, Union Minister HD Kumaraswamy on Tuesday questioned whether it was a caste census or hatred.
In a statement, Kumaraswamy, who holds steel and heavy industries portfolio, demanded to know the population of the major agricultural community Vokaliga, which is related.
“What really is – a caste census or census of hatred? Is this so -called census a conspiracy designed to deliberately incite unrest in the state? Or is it only a twisting strategy to attract attention from embarrassment due to tireless value increase and a series of corruption scandals?” The minister questioned.
He further said, “If the entire state is surrounded by the flames of caste divisions, is this step by the Congress government in Karnataka to marginalize some communities political and socially?” Expressing concern over the report of the leaked caste census, Kumaraswamy said that the ‘so -called figures’ from this report are now floating everywhere. Some unknown hand systematically leaked him in a public domain, he alleged.
The minister tried to know the real population of the Vokaliga community living in the old Mysuru region like Mandya, Kolar, Chikkabalapur, Ramnagara, Bengaluru Rural, Tamakuru and Chitradurg.
He also took a jib to Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivkumar to take a U-turn on caste census, despite this.
“In his search for the Chief Minister’s chair, he (Shivkumar) once begged the community, ‘Just give me a pen and paper once!’ And now, is the man bending his head and supporting the report of the Siddha conspiracy? “
Siddha is clearly referred to as Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.
“I don’t support this report. I am fully prepared to fight against this injustice,” the minister said.
The socio-economic and educational survey, caste census, was presented before the Karnataka Cabinet on 11 April.
The report was commissioned by Siddaramaiah during his first term as Chief Minister in 2015. H Kantraj initially started the work that was carried forward by former minister’s Jayaprakash. The report was submitted to the Chief Minister in February 2024.
The Chief Minister said that there will be a detailed discussion on the report in a special cabinet meeting on 17 April.
(Except for the headline, the story has not been edited by NDTV employees and is published by a syndicated feed.)
