Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah In A Bind Over Caste Survey

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah is caught in a dilemma over the release of the controversial caste survey, work on which was initiated while he was heading the Congress government in the state between 2013 and 2018.

Till recently, he was undeterred by the sustained protests against the yet to be submitted caste census. The opposition essentially came from seers and prominent leaders of the traditionally dominant Lingayat and Vokkaliga communities which account for a major part of the state’s population.

Siddaramaiah’s confidence stemmed from the unstinted support that he expected from his party members, particularly those from the two main communities. In addition, there was the recent assertion by former Congress president, Rahul Gandhi, that in the event his party assumed power in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, it would commission a nationwide caste census.

The Chief Minister, however, was stumped late last month, after Deputy Chief Minister, D. K . Shivakumar, put him in a spot . The latter signed on a petition that the Vokkaliga association submitted to the government. It urged the government to reject the caste report while dismissing what it claimed was “ unscientific data collected during the survey.”

On his part, Shivakumar argued that while he backed his party’s stand on the caste census, it was difficult to ignore his community’s concerns. “As a Vokkaliga , I stand by my community. What is wrong with it?,” Shivakumar asked.

Predictably, Siddaramaiah was not amused by Shivakumar’s defence. This explains why a visibly hurt CM could not hide his emotions while claiming that he had no clue that Shivakumar had signed the petition. This, even as he learnt that many state ministers and legislators were also among the signatories.

Clearly, when it comes to protecting their community’s interests , the caste leaders know what comes first; something that Siddaramiah would have also learnt from his own experience as an OBC.

The importance of the memorandum, significantly, was underlined further by the fact that Vokkaliga leaders like former Prime Minister, Deve Gowda, his son, H. D. Kumaraswamy, S. M. Krishna and Sadanand Gowda ( all former CMs), were the other signatories. The list also included Union minister, Shobha Karnadlaje, and leader of the opposition in the state assembly, R. Ashok.

As a matter of fact, the protest was in line with the one mounted by the Lingayats as well, with the common refrain that “the report should be rejected as it would divide the society. “ The critics claimed that the survey was “flawed, unscientific, irrelevant and incomplete.”

Accordingly, the leaders of the two castes have called for a fresh census, an argument which has been dismissed , albeit contemptuously, by the CM. He even went public, stating that it was absurd to oppose the survey even before its submission to the government.

Importantly, Siddaramaiah got the much needed support from the former chairman of the State Backward Classes Commission, H. Kantharaju, during whose tenure the caste census was undertaken.

Asserting that the “socio economic and education survey” was undertaken scientifically, Kantharaju said that the critics were unfair in claiming otherwise. Even worse, people were pre-judging the census report without even seeing it. According to him, the commission had asked 55 questions seeking information on issues relating to assets, agricultural land holding and caste during its survey.

Siddaramaiah’s problems, however, did not end here.Reports that sections of the survey had gone missing added to his woes. This, even after Jayaprakash Hegde, the present chairman of the Backward Classes Commission, claimed otherwise.

For the record, Hegde’s term which ended last month, has been extended by a month, if only to allow him time to give final touches to the report before its submission. The extension, however, only adds to the confusion considering that the government finds itself in a tricky situation, with the critics now claiming that parts of the census were leaked.

They are relying on unconfirmed reports, as per which the share of the Lingayats and Vokkaligas in the state’s population has come down sharply from 17 and 14 per cent ,respectively, earlier, to 14 and 11 per cent now.

It is in this context that the demand from ministers, and other leaders, from the backward and minority communities, assumes importance, something that the CM also realises, as they believe that the census report will play a major role in the 2024 Parliamentary polls.

Incidentally, amid the issues confronting the CM now is the new found clout that Shivakumar is enjoying in the Congress. The party entrusted him with the responsibility of protecting its MLAs in Telangana from being poached, after it won the recent Assembly polls there.

Not surprisingly, following these developments, Shivakumar appears to have strengthened his case for the top post in Karnataka, even if not immediately.

It would be difficult to blame Siddaramaiah if he now feels a little uncertain about his continuation as CM for a full five year term. Especially, when he knows how tough it was for the party’s central leadership to decide between him and Shivakumar, post its win in Karnataka this May.

To that extent, the caste census apart, Siddaramiah has something more to worry about now, even as he continues to brush aside opponents of the “Socio economic and education survey,” which cost the government over Rs 160 crores.