Will not accept caste census report, says Veerashaiva Mahasabha K’taka chief

Bengaluru: The All-India Veerashaiva Lingayat Mahasabha’s Karnataka state president, Shankar Bidari, on Sunday said the controversial caste census report, presented by the Backward Classes Commission to the Congress-led government in Karnataka, was unacceptable.

Speaking in Bengaluru on Sunday, Bidari said the report does not provide accurate information regarding the population of the Veerashaiva-Lingayat community. According to the report, the population of the community is shown as 66 lakh.

However, he claimed that the actual population, when all sub-castes are considered, is around three crore in the state. “We will not accept this report under any circumstances. We will appeal to the government and Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to conduct a fresh caste census in the state,” Bidari said.

The organisation is one of the most influential community groups in Karnataka, as the Veerashaiva-Lingayat community plays a crucial role in determining the outcome of elections in nearly 150 Assembly out of the total 224 constituencies.

Commenting on the issue on Sunday, Minister for Large and Medium Industries M.B. Patil said the population of the Veerashaiva-Lingayat community is not around 70 lakh, as stated in the report, but is actually more than one crore.

“I have obtained a copy of the caste census report. I will need to go through it thoroughly before making any comments. Once I have studied the report, I will share my views at the special cabinet meeting scheduled for April 17,” Patil said.

“We need to clarify the doubts and discuss the matter in the cabinet. To avail of reservation benefits, many sub-castes do not officially record themselves as belonging to the Lingayat community. Such facts must be taken into account. The matter will be discussed, and there will be no conflict,” he added.

The census report lists the Lingayat community population at 66.35 lakh, comprising 11.09 per cent — lower than the Muslim population. Currently, the Lingayat community is considered the largest in the state, with 17 per cent of the population.

The controversial caste census report submitted by the Backward Classes Commission to the Congress-led government in Karnataka has pegged the Muslim population in the state at 18.08 per cent and recommends 8 per cent reservation for the community, sources confirmed on Sunday. The Muslims are currently getting four per cent reservation in the state.

The caste census report was submitted to the state cabinet on Friday (April 10), and the state government is convening a special cabinet meeting on April 17 to decide on the report’s recommendations. However, no official statement has been issued to the media regarding the report’s contents. Nonetheless, details presented in the cabinet meeting have surfaced in the public domain.

In 2014, Siddaramaiah (during his first tenure as the Chief Minister) ordered the Karnataka Socio-Economic and Educational Census. A committee headed by the then Backward Classes Commission Chairman, H. Kantharaju, did the survey at a cost of around Rs 169 crore. The report was ready by 2016; it was, however, put in cold storage by subsequent governments.

IANS