BENGALURU, 13 APRIL

Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar on Sunday said his government will not take any hasty decision regarding the Socio-Economic and Education Survey report, popularly known as the caste census, which was recently tabled before the state cabinet.

He said the Cabinet will go through the report and discuss it, and will do justice to all based on the facts, as he also called the statements being made against the report as "political".

Meanwhile, Opposition Leader R Ashoka demanded that the report be withdrawn and a scientific report be prepared by conducting a door-to-door survey.

Speaking to reporters, Ashoka claimed that Siddaramaiah has worked to divide castes and religions. “Previously, Lingayats were considered the largest caste in the state, followed by Vokkaligas and Dalits. However, the new report claims Muslims are the largest caste. Despite various sub-castes within Muslims, they have not been separated, while certain sub-castes among Vokkaligas have been categorised,” he said

He accused the report of inflating the numbers of communities that vote heavily for Congress and unfairly targeting Vokkaligas, Lingayats, and Dalits.

The report was placed before the Cabinet by the Karnataka State Commission for Backward Classes on Friday. It will be discussed at a special cabinet meeting scheduled on 17 April.

The Commission, under its then Chairman K Jayaprakash Hegde, had submitted the report to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on 29 February last year, amid objections raised by certain sections of society and voices against it from within the ruling Congress.

"The CM has spoken about it. I have not yet seen the report as I was visiting Belagavi and Mangaluru yesterday (Saturday). It has to be discussed in the Cabinet. Apparently, the CM has said that it will be discussed in the Assembly, too. No one will take any hasty decision," Shivakumar said.

He said in Doddaballapur, "Some people may be making political statements about it (caste census), but we will study the facts and do justice to all."

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge refused to comment on the report, "I have no information about what will be discussed in the Cabinet, or what is in the report. When I get the report, I can say something. If any decision is taken in the 17 April Cabinet meeting, I can react to it," he said.

Shivakumar, who is also the state Congress president and a Vokkaliga, was a signatory to a memorandum submitted to the chief minister earlier, requesting rejection of the report.