NEW DELHI/BENGALURU, 15 JAN

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah announced on Wednesday that the presentation of the caste census report before the state cabinet has been postponed by a week.

The Karnataka Socio-Economic and Education Survey, commonly known as the 'Karnataka caste census', was originally scheduled for 16 January.

Siddaramaiah confirmed the delay, stating, “There was a plan to table the caste census report in tomorrow’s cabinet meeting. However, it will not be taken up tomorrow. It will be placed a week later in a subsequent cabinet meeting.”

He added that the report would be made public after the cabinet’s decision, noting that the ongoing public discussion is based on "assumptions" as the report has not been disclosed yet.

Earlier, Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara suggested the report would be presented on Thursday and stressed the need for transparency.

“The sealed cover (of the report) will be opened before the cabinet to prevent any leakage of information. Whether there will be a discussion on it or not, I cannot speak about it now, but at least abstract information will be available once opened,” he said.

The report, which cost approximately ₹169 crore, has sparked controversy, particularly among the dominant Lingayat and Vokkaliga communities, who have raised concerns about its methodology.

Both communities have called the survey "unscientific" and demanded a new survey be conducted. The survey was commissioned by the previous Congress government in 2015, with H Kantharaju leading the committee.

It was completed in 2016, but successive governments kept it under wraps. In 2020, BJP-appointed Jayaprakash Hegde submitted the final report to the Siddaramaiah government in February 2024.

The findings of the survey are believed to conflict with traditional perceptions about the population size of various castes, especially the Lingayats and Vokkaligas.

This has made the report a politically sensitive issue, with key leaders, including Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar, calling for it to be rejected.