Fresh caste survey in Karnataka: BJP says Congress always betrayed OBCs

New Delhi: The BJP on Monday accused the Congress of always deceiving and betraying the Other Backward Classes following the Karnataka government's decision to junk an earlier caste survey in favour of a fresh count.

Union minister and BJP leader Bhupender Yadav asked for fixing accountability, noting that over Rs 165 crore of public money was spent in carrying out the now-dumped caste survey.

Yadav claimed that the Congress has a history of betraying the OBC interests as he recalled that its governments at the Centre had ignored the Kaka Kalelkar Commission report on empowering the backward classes. The party also opposed the Mandal Commission recommendations, he said.

He told reporters that Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said the decision for a new caste survey was not his government’s but the Congress leadership's.

Yadav questioned such an intervention of the party in the government's decision-making, and compared it with the interference from Sonia Gandhi-headed National Advisory Council in the UPA government.

It is the Modi government, Yadav said, which has worked for the socio-economic empowerment of the backward classes with its numerous schemes. It also accorded constitutional status on the National Commission for Backward Classes, he added.

The Karnataka government's decision does not only highlight the internal contradictions of the Congress but also highlighted that social justice is mere optics for the party.