The caste cauldron is heating up politics once again in Karnataka, with the two dominant castes — Lingayats and Vokkaliggas — expressing serious reservations about the caste survey ahead of its consideration by the cabinet on Thursday.
There are prospects that the heat from the caste survey could singe the Congress party itself, given the strong views on the subject from the influential leaders of the two communities, and the opposition’s sharp criticism and narrative questioning the intent behind the caste survey — portraying it as a distraction from the failures of the state government.
But when it comes to the caste survey submitted to the government, influential leaders from Lingayat and Vokkaliga demand that the report be dumped as it underestimates the strength of the two communities and could result in lesser reservations for their respective castes.
While Lingayat politicians like Lingayat minister Lakshmi Hebbalkar or community seer Channasiddharama Shivacharya Bhagawatpadaru of Srisshaila Peetha rejected the caste survey outright, the Lingayat Mahasabha, a community body, is taking note of the report, sources said.
Lingayat minister Lakshmi said her community opposed the survey report, portions of which were leaked in the media, as it estimated the Lingayat population as a smaller figure. “The caste census 20 years ago and now would be different. All communities would have grown. We aren’t against it. Lingayats also would have increased. Many are in the 2A category, a few in 3A and 2B. Many in the 2A category don’t write Lingayat. Since Lingayats are divided in name, the number appears smaller,” Lakshmi Hebbalkar said.
Similar sentiments are being expressed by the other politically dominant caste, the Vokkaliggas, whose leader, Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar, has convened a meeting of party leaders from the community to discuss the recommendations of the report later in the day on Tuesday. Saying that he had not yet gone through the report, the deputy CM said that first he would get the opinion of Vokkaliga legislators on the caste census.
Even as the dominant castes come out openly against the caste survey, BJP has sharpened its attack on the report itself, questioning its validity and alleging that Chief Minister S Siddaramaiah is using the report to deflect attention from the internal leadership tussle within the Congress, and as a weapon to blunt the chances of DK Shivakumar.
Whenever the CM’s position is threatened, he throws up the smokescreen of the caste census report to divert public attention, said the leader of the Opposition in the assembly, R Ashok. It is a political distraction to hide his own failures, the BJP leader said, questioning the legitimacy of the caste survey report itself.
Ashok highlighted the suspicion that the original sealed copy was missing and questioned why only the sub-castes of Lingayats and Vokkaligas were broken down in the report but not those of Muslims or Christians.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah maintained silence over the issue and asked people to wait for the cabinet meeting to consider and discuss all issues threadbare. The government will respond to criticism from different quarters after the April 17 cabinet meeting, the CM told media persons on Tuesday.
Minister for IT, Rural Development, and Panchayat, Priyank Kharge, came to the defence of the Chief Minister, stating that the BJP almost always opposes any reform or measure that could potentially empower Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. Even in the past, the BJP had opposed the Havanur Commission and others, Kharge said and added, “The report has not even been released, and people don’t know what’s in it. Maybe the BJP should wait for the report to be made public and have a proper debate on the subject.”