<p>Belagavi: Karnataka BJP President B Y Vijayendra on Tuesday alleged that the Congress party has continued the British-era policy of divide and rule even after Independence.</p><p>Speaking to reporters at the airport here, Vijayendra said Chief Minister Siddaramaiah during previous tenure earlier divided people on the lines of Veershaiva’s and Lingayats as separate religions and now on the name of caste census while there was no provision for state government to do caste census. </p><p>Siddaramaiah is using the caste census report to create a divide between Hindus and Muslims,” Vijayendra alleged. "The Congress is now invoking Dr B R Ambedkar and the Constitution only because it has lost its base and is struggling to stay relevant as an opposition party in the Lok Sabha."</p>.State govt has turned police stations into Cong office, says Vijayendra.<p>He further accused the Congress of using Muslims, Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes as a vote bank. In contrast, he said, the BJP is genuinely concerned about the welfare of backward classes and wants justice for them. “Siddaramaiah, however, is using them only to consolidate his own political position,” he said.</p><p>The caste census report, originally compiled in 2015, was kept in cold storage by Siddaramaiah for four years, Vijayendra said. Even during the JD(S)-Congress coalition government, when Siddaramaiah was the coordination committee chairman, the report was not released.</p><p>“Now, during his second term as Chief Minister, he has released the report after 20 months in office — just when it seems his time to step down is near,” Vijayendra claimed.</p>.<p>He added that the caste census report is outdated, being 10 years old, and even the Backward Classes Commission has recommended that such data be updated every decade. :This report has been brought out now only to divert public attention from the failures of the government," he said.</p><p>Vijayendra also alleged that Karnataka had become the costliest state in the country, with prices of over 50 essential commodities rising significantly. "The BJP’s <em>Jan Akrosh Yatra</em> is being held to expose the failures of the government," he said.</p>
<p>Belagavi: Karnataka BJP President B Y Vijayendra on Tuesday alleged that the Congress party has continued the British-era policy of divide and rule even after Independence.</p><p>Speaking to reporters at the airport here, Vijayendra said Chief Minister Siddaramaiah during previous tenure earlier divided people on the lines of Veershaiva’s and Lingayats as separate religions and now on the name of caste census while there was no provision for state government to do caste census. </p><p>Siddaramaiah is using the caste census report to create a divide between Hindus and Muslims,” Vijayendra alleged. "The Congress is now invoking Dr B R Ambedkar and the Constitution only because it has lost its base and is struggling to stay relevant as an opposition party in the Lok Sabha."</p>.State govt has turned police stations into Cong office, says Vijayendra.<p>He further accused the Congress of using Muslims, Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes as a vote bank. In contrast, he said, the BJP is genuinely concerned about the welfare of backward classes and wants justice for them. “Siddaramaiah, however, is using them only to consolidate his own political position,” he said.</p><p>The caste census report, originally compiled in 2015, was kept in cold storage by Siddaramaiah for four years, Vijayendra said. Even during the JD(S)-Congress coalition government, when Siddaramaiah was the coordination committee chairman, the report was not released.</p><p>“Now, during his second term as Chief Minister, he has released the report after 20 months in office — just when it seems his time to step down is near,” Vijayendra claimed.</p>.<p>He added that the caste census report is outdated, being 10 years old, and even the Backward Classes Commission has recommended that such data be updated every decade. :This report has been brought out now only to divert public attention from the failures of the government," he said.</p><p>Vijayendra also alleged that Karnataka had become the costliest state in the country, with prices of over 50 essential commodities rising significantly. "The BJP’s <em>Jan Akrosh Yatra</em> is being held to expose the failures of the government," he said.</p>