Congress decides to re-enumerate caste data in Karnataka to address concerns

The decision was taken at a high-level meeting of the party that also reviewed the government's handling of the Bengaluru stampede that claimed 11 lives on June 4.

New Delhi: The Congress top brass on Tuesday asked Karnataka government to hold re-enumeration of caste data in the state to address concerns of some communities who complained of being left out of the survey that was conducted 10 years ago.

The caste census emerged as one of the key state issues in a meeting where Congress President Mallikarjuna Kharge, senior leader Rahul Gandhi, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) President and Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar were among those present.

The Congress top brass summoned the CM and Dy CM to the national capital to discuss the state government's handling of the Bengaluru stampede that claimed 11 lives on June 4.

Emerging out of the meeting, AICC General Secretary K C Venugopal said: "The caste census was discussed. The Congress party is thinking that whatever the Karnataka government has done in the caste census should be agreed upon in principle. But there are some apprehensions from some sections and communities about the counting of the caste."

He noted that the state government had conducted the caste census a decade ago and the data was now outdated.

"The Congress party has suggested the Chief Minister to do a re-enumeration process within a stipulated time, say 60-80 days. This is what we decided about the caste census in the meeting," he added.

The move comes close on the heels of the Centre announcing the schedule of the national census with caste enumeration.

Venugopal said the top leaders also discussed the current political situation and other issues, including the tragic June 4 stampede in Bengaluru that claimed 11 lives during Royal Challengers Bengaluru's IPL victory celebrations outside the Chinnaswamy Stadium.

He said the Chief Minister and the KPCC president briefed the leadership about the incident and the action taken by the state government.

"Certainly, we are very much concerned about every human life. An unfortunate incident has happened. The government of Karnataka has already ordered a judicial inquiry to find out what exactly happened," he said.

While the party chose not to delve into the specifics during the ongoing judicial inquiry, Venugopal emphasised that the Congress had a "clear view that there should be a clear-cut pro-people attitude on this issue".

Venugopal also attacked the Centre saying, "They (Centre) are completely neglecting the state of Karnataka on planned allocation. The central plan allocation to Karnataka is totally unacceptable. They are marginalising Karnataka into a corner. The Modi government is doing injustice to Karnataka, which is not at all acceptable."

Later, speaking to media, Siddaramaiah said the cabinet reshuffle issue was not discussed in the meeting.