Don't oppose caste census report before it's out, says Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara

Bengaluru: Home Minister Dr G Parameshwara on Sunday said he couldn’t understand why some people were opposing the caste census report, even before it was accepted by the government. 

Parameshwara told reporters here, “The government has spent Rs 168 crore to complete this elaborate exercise. It’s people’s money, will it not go to waste?”

In 2015, the then Congress government had directed H Kantharaju, the then president of the Karnataka State Commission for Backward Classes, to undertake the socio-economic survey, popularly known as caste census.

The politically dominant communities -  Vokkaligas and Lingayats – have been opposing the release of the report since 2018. 

The home minister said some may be opposing it, but many want this report to come out. This large section wants to know the truth of where they stand on the socio-economic ladder.

“It is not appropriate for any community to exert pressure on the government not to accept the report. As the government, we have a role to play. First let’s accept it, whether it should be tabled in the legislature or not can be discussed later,” he said.

K M Ramachandrappa, president of the Karnataka Marginalised Communities’ Federation, told DH that the forum was planning to organise a massive convention to exert pressure on the government to accept the caste census report without  succumbing to the demands of powerful communities.