Public debate on caste census report is must, says former Karnataka CM Basavaraj Bommai

Bengaluru: Former Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai urged the state government to clarify whether the socio-economic and education survey report, commonly known as the caste census report, that was received by Chief Minister Siddaramiah in Bengaluru was the Kantharaj report or the Jayprakash Hegde report.

Bommai told reporters here on Thursday that four to five petitions have been pending before the Supreme Court on who should conduct the caste census.

"In the current report, some sub-castes have been separated from the main castes and vice versa in the case of other castes. The state government must clarify it's stand on the report. There must be a public debate on the report. The BJP was not against the backward classes but justice must be done to all based on the population. The report must not be used for politics in the coming Lok Sabha polls," Bommai said.

The Chairman of the Commission for Backward Classes, Jayaprakash Hegde, submitted the socio-economic and education survey report, commonly known as the caste census report, to Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramiah at his chamber in Bengaluru on Thursday. The tenure of the commission headed by Jayaprakash Hegde ends today.

This Commission-revised report was prepared using the data from the report prepared by the HA Kantaraj-led commission.

Earlier, Lingayat leader and former minister and Congress MLA Shamanur Shivashankarappa said that the survey hasn't been done scientifically and that it has to be done in a proper way.

Meanwhile, Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar also said that there could be an injustice to the Vokkaliga community, so he demanded a scientific report.

On these allegations, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah clarified and said we don't know what's in the report. Let it be submitted, and he will react after looking at the report. The opposition parties of the INDIA bloc have been advocating for a nationwide caste census.