2 weeks Ago By Moneycontrol
Senior Congress leader and former Karnataka Chief Minister Veerappa Moily has questioned the findings of the Karnataka government's Socio-Economic and Educational Survey Report 2015, suggesting that an accurate caste count can only be arrived at through a fresh survey. "The survey was conducted in 2015, and there is a need for a resurvey. We will get an accurate figure only through a fresh survey.
Else, the people will dispute the numbers," Moily told The New Indian Express in an interview published Tuesday. The report has led to widespread criticism for the Congress government over its factual correctness with many backward communities claiming an incorrect representation of their population. The report, based on data collected by the Kantharaj Commission in 2015, has also been termed unscientific and outdated by several quarters.
"The contradictions in the data will have to be answered by the government. It will polarise the society and is politically dangerous. The survey has shown that there is an increase in Muslim population to the extent of about 4% or 6% while many other most backward people are shown less.
That’s why there is a doubt that the survey was not done scientifically," Moily stated. Leaked portions of the yet-to-be-released report suggested that major caste groups like the Lingayats and Vokkaligas may have smaller populations than earlier assumed, leading to significant angst among these communities. A special cabinet meeting held last week ended without consensus as stakeholders demanded a fresh survey to be held.
The cabinet will take up the matter again on May 2. Moily further said that when the report of the Chinnappa Reddy Commission was released during his tenure as chief minister in 1992, the population of Lingayats was much higher than what the current report states. "How can the numbers go down after so many years? Ideally, It can only increase.
It is not correct to say that the numbers of the community have decreased. That requires reassessment," Moily added. Moily further said that CM Siddaramaiah-led Cabinet is considering how to give a more proper and feasible report so that the proportion of the reservation can be decided.
"Many of the ministers belong to the most backward, more backward and backward sections. All of them will definitely raise their voice. They will have to find some formula by which it should be acceptable to all the people," he said.
As per reports, the original 2015 survey report was never submitted to the government due to the absence of the member-secretary’s signature, causing the caste census to be sidelined under the Congress-JD(S) coalition and the subsequent BJP government. In July 2023, with Siddaramaiah back as chief minister, the Congress government instructed Dr Jayaprakash Hegde—appointed by the previous BJP regime as chairman of the backward classes commission—to submit a comprehensive report using the 2015 survey data. The implementation of the caste survey report was one of the key promises in the Congress’s 2023 Karnataka election manifesto and has been reiterated a number of times by party MP Rahul Gandhi.
Asked if the lack of consensus within the government over the report could prove a setback for the ruling government, Moily said that even Rahul Gandhi would oppose an unscientific report without proper data. "The cabinet is considering how to give a more proper and feasible report. On the basis of that, the proportion of the reservation can be decided," he was quoted as having told the paper.
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