CM Siddaramaiah Questions Timing of Caste Census Move

A day after the Centre included caste enumeration in the national census, chief minister Siddaramaiah termed the move as politically motivated and was possibly linked to the forthcoming elections in Bihar.

- Arun Dev

NEW DELHI: He also said that it was important to conduct a thorough socio-economic and educational survey.

At a press interaction in Bengaluru, Siddaramaiah said there was a long-standing demand for a caste census and referred to the Congress's manifesto, which includes a socio-economic and educational survey. "We included in the manifesto, as well. I feel they might have kept the Bihar election in their mind too," he said on Thursday while pointing out the urgency with which the Centre appeared to have acted.

He credited Rahul Gandhi's sustained advocacy for the breakthrough and said: "I congratulate Rahul Gandhi more because, for the last five years, he has been urging the central government to conduct a caste census."

The chief minister also reminded that Karnataka had already undertaken a similar exercise during his previous tenure. "In 2015, we conducted a caste survey under the Kantharaj committee, spending ₹192 crore with 1.65 lakh people involved, including 1.33 lakh (133,000) enumerators. However, after our government's term ended, neither Yediyurappa nor Bommai acted on it despite our pressure," he said.