Can caste census of seven crore people be done in just 15 days, asks Karnataka BJP

Bengaluru, July 24 (IANS) The Karnataka BJP on Thursday objected to the Congress-led government's plan to complete the caste census of seven crore people in the state in 15 days, questioning its feasibility.

State BJP President B.Y. Vijayendra said, "To mislead the backward communities, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has started a new drama. For 10 consecutive years, Siddaramaiah politically exploited the caste survey report of the Kantharaj Commission and wasted Rs 165 crore of Karnataka taxpayers' money. Now, he has issued instructions to complete a caste survey of 7 crore people in the state within just 15 days, attempting to pull off a "magic trick".

"Even after the stipulated time has passed, the process of collecting caste data among Scheduled Communities for the sub-categorisation of internal reservations has not yet been completed. So, is it even possible to finish a caste survey of 7 crore people in just 15 days (from September 22 to October 7)?" Vijayendra questioned.

For the sake of securing his Chief Ministerial position, Siddaramaiah is once again "misusing" taxpayers' money by trying to "fool" the people of Karnataka, he slammed.

Instead of supporting this Union Government's decision to include caste enumeration along with the national population census, the Congress government in Karnataka, despite the Constitution having no provision for it, has once again announced a separate caste survey, Vijayendra stated.

"Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's power-hungry political strategy will soon face a people's verdict. The public will teach him a lesson", Vijayendra said.

The Karnataka government has announced that it will conduct a fresh caste census exercise in the state from September 22.

Following directions from the Congress leadership, the initial caste census report, prepared at a cost of around Rs 160 crore, was scrapped by the Siddaramaiah-led government in Karnataka.

The earlier caste census report was considered a pet project of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. However, it faced strong opposition from various communities, including the influential Lingayat and Vokkaliga groups.

--IANS

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