Amid opposition from the BJP, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Wednesday defended the choice to carry a Socio-Financial and Instructional Survey or caste census within the state, saying that the train was important to gauge the standing of assorted communities.
The contemporary survey would “assist the federal government in formulating improvement programmes”, Siddaramaiah mentioned, talking to reporters at Kalaburagi, and dismissed the BJP’s criticism relating to the train as merely “political”.
The survey is being held from September 22 to October 7 throughout the state. It’s being held up for the second time because the findings of an analogous survey carried out in 2015 have been junked by the state authorities, arguing that the Census information was greater than a decade previous. The choice taken in June this 12 months was additionally attributed to opposition from the dominant Vokkaliga and Lingayat communities.
A day earlier, BJP leaders, together with BJP Parliamentary Board member and former Karnataka chief minister B S Yediyurappa, had solid apprehensions over the upcoming train. Yediyurappa has criticised the survey, alleging that there was an try and divide the Veerashaiva Lingayat group. “If we don’t stand united now, the subsequent technology is not going to forgive us,” he mentioned, including that he would meet representatives of the Veerashaiva Mahasabha, seers from 5 peetas of Lingayats, and others to determine on the survey.
BJP state president B Y Vijayendra, recalling the agitation for a separate Veerashaiva-Lingayat faith standing throughout Siddaramaiah’s final tenure, mentioned that it was one other try and divide the group. He additionally objected to the inclusion of ‘Others’ as a non secular classification within the survey.
A delegation of representatives from the BJP, beneath Samajika Nyaya Jagruti Vedike-Karnataka, submitted a memorandum to Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot on Tuesday, expressing sturdy objections to the survey. Among the many complaints raised by it included the “unnecessarily lengthy and sophisticated” questionnaire, inclusion of Christian identifiers comparable to ‘Kumbara Christian’, ‘Madiwala Christian’ and others in caste classes, lack of justification for together with the ‘faith’ column within the caste survey, and opposition from distinguished seers towards the survey.
The petition requested Gehlot to “advise” the Karnataka authorities towards continuing with the “flawed and divisive train”, including that the BJP wouldn’t enable the Congress authorities to “misuse caste survey for political mileage and to divide society”.
Story continues under this advert
The survey will contain 1.75 lakh academics as enumerators, every of whom should go to 120-150 homes for information assortment.