Vokkaliga-Veerashaiva/Lingayat coordination committee lashes out at caste-based census
Bengaluru: Vokkaliga-Veerashaiva-Lingayat solidarity committee Saturday raised concern over Caste-Census commissioned by then Congress government headed by Siddaramaiah.
The speakers at the forum, Swamiji's of Vokkaliga and Lingayat communities, lawyers, and activists, called out the selective leakage of the number of caste composition in the state which they claim would destroy the social fabric of the society.
At the outset, Gangadhar Gurumath questioned the state government power to conduct caste census in the state. He said, "The power to conduct caste census vests only with the Central government. But the state government gave the Backward Class Commission nod to conduct the census."
S Harish, Member Bar Council Karnataka, cited Madras High Court order on the caste-wise census. The high court dismissed a PIL seeking caste-wise census in 2021 in Tamil Nadu saying, “When the endeavour is to move towards a casteless society, such petitions cannot be entertained.”
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" The Backward Class Commission doesn't have authority to conduct caste-based census but the commission continued with the survey in violation of rules. Also, Rs 180 crores were spent on the futile exercise. We seek transparent investigation into the financial irregularities, said Harish.
Swamijis of both communities endorsed their support to the forum in the fight against the caste census. Swamijis alleged that the census is politically motivated to create a fissure in the two dominant communities of the state.
Karnataka ordered a Social and Educational Survey in 2014 when Congress was in power under the Chief Ministership of Siddaramaiah. The then government had said that the survey was being conducted to enable the state government to decide reservations and quotas in the OBC category as per the 127th Constitution Amendment Bill.
BS Natraj and TG Mrutyunjaya conducted the event to bring a consensus between Vokkaliga and Linagayt communities on controversial the cate-census in Karnataka.
