<p>Karnataka Social Welfare and Backward Classes Welfare Minister Kota Srinivas Poojary on Thursday said the state government had “an open mind” on making public findings of the contentious Social and Educational Survey, or the caste census. </p>.<p>“Only a small step is left, which is for the Karnataka State Commission for Backward Classes to submit the report to the government. The Commission has told us that there are some technical issues. We will discuss with the Commission on the status of the report and decide the next steps,” Poojary told reporters.</p>.<p>The caste census was commissioned by the then Siddaramaiah-led Congress government, the first since 1931. Ahead of the 2018 Assembly elections, a part of the report was “leaked”. The alleged findings threatened to overthrow the traditional perception of the numerical strength of various castes, making the report a political hot potato. </p>.<p>Poojary specified that all files pertaining to the caste census were with the Commission chairperson K Jayaprakash Hegde.</p>.<p>“About Rs 170 crore was spent on the survey during previous Commission chairperson H Kantharaju’s tenure. We hoped that the Siddaramaiah government would release the report, but it did not,” he said.</p>.<p>“Once the Commission hands over the report to the government, it’s as good as the report being released.”</p>.<p>Earlier in the day, the ‘Extremely Backward Classes Awareness Forum’ held a brainstorming session where they discussed the current 32% reservation for OBCs. The forum lamented that only dominant castes were availing the reservation benefits and that there was a need to reorganise the quota. But to do that, the findings of the caste census should be made public, they said and decided to mount pressure on the government. </p>.<p>The Forum’s honorary advisor CS Dwarakanath, honorary president ‘Mukhyamantri’ Chandru, president MC Venugopal, MLC PR Ramesh and former MLA NL Narendra Babu among others met Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai. </p>.<p>They urged Bommai not to include dominant castes under Category 2A of the OBC reservation in the state and have the caste census report tabled. Specifically, the Forum is against the numerically strong Panchamasali Lingayats demanding a shift from Category 3B (5% quota) to Category 2A (15% quota). </p>.<p>“Based on their caste and capability, Panchamasalis don’t fit the criteria. The criteria are that they shouldn’t own land, they should lack financial security and have socio-economic backwardness. But Panchamasalis have several ministers, they’ve had a chief minister, there are so many mutts... they are well represented,” Chandru said.</p>
<p>Karnataka Social Welfare and Backward Classes Welfare Minister Kota Srinivas Poojary on Thursday said the state government had “an open mind” on making public findings of the contentious Social and Educational Survey, or the caste census. </p>.<p>“Only a small step is left, which is for the Karnataka State Commission for Backward Classes to submit the report to the government. The Commission has told us that there are some technical issues. We will discuss with the Commission on the status of the report and decide the next steps,” Poojary told reporters.</p>.<p>The caste census was commissioned by the then Siddaramaiah-led Congress government, the first since 1931. Ahead of the 2018 Assembly elections, a part of the report was “leaked”. The alleged findings threatened to overthrow the traditional perception of the numerical strength of various castes, making the report a political hot potato. </p>.<p>Poojary specified that all files pertaining to the caste census were with the Commission chairperson K Jayaprakash Hegde.</p>.<p>“About Rs 170 crore was spent on the survey during previous Commission chairperson H Kantharaju’s tenure. We hoped that the Siddaramaiah government would release the report, but it did not,” he said.</p>.<p>“Once the Commission hands over the report to the government, it’s as good as the report being released.”</p>.<p>Earlier in the day, the ‘Extremely Backward Classes Awareness Forum’ held a brainstorming session where they discussed the current 32% reservation for OBCs. The forum lamented that only dominant castes were availing the reservation benefits and that there was a need to reorganise the quota. But to do that, the findings of the caste census should be made public, they said and decided to mount pressure on the government. </p>.<p>The Forum’s honorary advisor CS Dwarakanath, honorary president ‘Mukhyamantri’ Chandru, president MC Venugopal, MLC PR Ramesh and former MLA NL Narendra Babu among others met Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai. </p>.<p>They urged Bommai not to include dominant castes under Category 2A of the OBC reservation in the state and have the caste census report tabled. Specifically, the Forum is against the numerically strong Panchamasali Lingayats demanding a shift from Category 3B (5% quota) to Category 2A (15% quota). </p>.<p>“Based on their caste and capability, Panchamasalis don’t fit the criteria. The criteria are that they shouldn’t own land, they should lack financial security and have socio-economic backwardness. But Panchamasalis have several ministers, they’ve had a chief minister, there are so many mutts... they are well represented,” Chandru said.</p>
