Doubts have arisen as the Budget has announced maximum benefits for Ahinda voters much before the submission of the census report.
Bengaluru: Did Chief Minister Siddaramaiah obtain details of the yet to be published Caste census report prepared by the Karnataka Backward Classes Commission, before embarking on the task of doling out benefits to several backward classes and Dalits in Wednesday's budget?
Doubts have arisen as the Budget has announced maximum benefits for Ahinda voters much before the submission of the census report. A member of the commission told Deccan Chronicle that it was interesting that the CM had given the maximum benefits to Scheduled Castes/ Scheduled Tribes, other backward classes and minorities depending on their population while others got very little in the Rs 1.86 lakh crore budget. Did the caste composition help the CM in deciding what each community should get so that he could target Ahinda votes better in the coming Assembly polls?
Interestingly, besides the SCs/STs, backward classes and minorities, Mr Siddaramaiah has announced sops for lesser known communities which got nothing in the last four budgets, presumably to woo these voters.
At the time of launching the Socio-Economic Survey otherwise known as the caste survey, at an estimated cost of over Rs 180 crore, the government had claimed that the survey details would help it identify the population of each caste and extend benefits to them depending upon their backwardness. Though, the report was ready a long time ago, its submission to the government was postponed several times. A few details were 'leaked' to the media which elicited sharp reactions from the majority communities. Insiders say that it was only a 'test dose' to see how the report would be accepted if it was made public.
The member said the submission of the report would now be a mere ritual since the state budget had revealed everything. The 2017-18 budget was technically the last budget of Mr Siddaramaiah as the Assembly elections may be held in March-April next year. Even the recommendations to be made by the commission may not be accepted by the next government since the census was Mr Siddaramaiah's pet project.
A senior BJP leader claimed the budget would have been different had Mr Siddaramaiah not got details of the caste census report much before it was made public. Since the backward classes commission comes under the state government, there would not be any problems in securing details unlike reports of the Joint House Committee, which has members belonging to all parties. Such reports are either submitted to the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly or the chairman of the Legislative Council.
But in this case, Mr Siddaramaiah had personally entrusted this job to the backward classes commission because of which he may have secured access to the report, said sources.
