Shivakumar also assured that the state cabinet will soon take up the matter and plan accordingly to ensure justice for all communities.
Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar on Tuesday confirmed that the Congress high command has decided to conduct a new caste census in the state. This announcement came after a crucial meeting in Delhi with Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and top leaders of the party.
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DK Shivakumar, addressing the media after his Delhi visit, said the Congress leadership had asked him and the Chief Minister to make sure that all communities are fairly represented in the upcoming caste enumeration process.
He stated, “We will give fresh opportunity to everyone who felt they were left out in the earlier caste survey.”
Shivakumar also assured that the state cabinet will soon take up the matter and plan accordingly to ensure justice for all communities.
The earlier caste census, carried out in 2015 when Mr. Siddaramaiah was Chief Minister, drew a lot of criticism. Many communities claimed they were either not included or misrepresented in the survey findings. Now, ten years later, the Congress leadership has acknowledged these concerns and decided to update the data.
The Congress top brass said that the re-enumeration is essential to address the dissatisfaction voiced by several ministers, MLAs, and MPs who flagged these issues.
A high-level Congress meeting was held in Delhi, attended by Congress President Mallikarjuna Kharge, senior leader Rahul Gandhi, CM Siddaramaiah, and KPCC President DK Shivakumar. Apart from the caste census, the meeting also reviewed the tragic stampede incident in Bengaluru that claimed 11 lives on June 4.
Briefing the media, AICC General Secretary KC 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 to in principle. But there are some apprehensions from some sections and communities about the counting of the caste.”
He also explained that the existing caste data was outdated, since the last census took place ten years ago.
“The Congress party has suggested to 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.
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