Caste census data deliberately leaked by Congress members, claims Kumaraswamy

Bengaluru: Union Minister H D Kumaraswamy on Tuesday alleged that data from the socio-economic and education survey report had been 'intentionally' leaked by 'invisible' hands within the state government.

In a statement released to the press, Kumaraswamy questioned how information from the report, which had been tabled only in the Cabinet, was now available in the public domain. “Some unknown hands have systematically leaked data into the public domain,” he added.

Training his guns on Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar, Kumaraswamy questioned the former’s loyalty to the Vokkaliga community. “He is signing a death warrant for the community by supporting the report,” the union minister added.

Calling upon the government to come clean on the exact population of the Lingayat and Vokkaliga communities in Karnataka, he said, “What is the population of the Vokkaliga community in the old Mysore region? The population of the Veerashaiva-Lingayat community estimated in the report is shocking.”

Kumaraswamy opined that the caste census was either part of a conspiracy to create unrest in Karnataka or an attempt to divert public attention from pressing issues such as price rise and the various corruption scandals that members of the government stand accused of. “The JD(S) will fight against the implementation of the caste census report,” he added.