Karnataka caste census: Veerashaiva-Lingayats, Vokkaligas raise objection to report

Bengaluru: A day after Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah accepted the socio-economic and education survey report, popularly known as the “caste census”, trouble seems to be mounting for the Congress government with dominant Veerashaiva-Lingayat and Vokkaliga communities reiterating their objection to it and warning of protests.

Both communities have been expressing reservations about the survey, calling it “unscientific” and have demanded that it be rejected and a fresh survey be conducted.

The survey report was submitted to Siddaramaiah by Karnataka State Commission for Backward Classes Chairman K Jayaprakash Hegde on Thursday, triggering a renewed debate within the Congress which appeared divided over the issue as a few of its Ministers and MLAs expressed apprehensions.

Siddaramaiah has said the report will be placed before the Cabinet and will be discussed before taking a decision.

Senior Congress MLA Shamanur Shivashankarappa, who heads the All India Veerashaiva Mahasabha, the apex body of Veerashaiva-Lingayats, said his community has been “deliberately” undercounted in the caste census.

“We will not remain silent, we will take necessary action. We will prove that the report is unscientific… Veershaiva-Lingayats and its sub-castes alone are about 2 crore. Let them conduct the scientific census once again,” he said.

The nine-year old survey report has been submitted now, he said. “On the basis of our population, we can say that this is unscientific… It seems that this might have been done deliberately (showing the community’s population low).” Asked whether the Veerashaiva Mahasabha will be conducting a survey, Shivashankarappa said, “we have not done any survey till now, if necessary we will do…. there is a plan… Our numbers are shown as 65-70 lakh. But we are not less than two crore.” The Vokkaliga community, to which Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar belongs, has planned meetings with senior leaders to chalk out future course of action.

Shivakumar along with some ministers from the community had earlier signed a petition addressed to Siddaramaiah urging the government to junk the report.

Noting that the survey contains information without visiting all households, State Vokkaliga Reservation Committee’s chief convener Nagaraj Yelachavadi said, “The report was submitted to the government without making necessary changes as sought by our community’s pontiffs and leaders such as H D Deve Gowda, D K Shivakumar and others.” Vokkaligara Sangha president C N Balakrishna, who is also a JD(S) MLA, said the community is not against the idea of caste census. “Our objection is to this survey, which was not done scientifically,” he said.