CM Siddaramaiah may cash in on caste census report in run up to polls

March 28, 2017

Bengaluru, Mar 28: With chief minister Siddaramaiah keen to play the Ahinda card ahead of the 2018 assembly polls, there is a possibility of the much-awaited socio-economic caste census (SECC) data being revealed.

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According to sources in the chief minister's office, the government recently decided to put the census on the back burner, following objections from senior party leaders. However, the government has been forced to rethink the decision, given that the BJP is going all out to win in Karnataka in the backdrop of its unprecedented performance in Uttar Pradesh. "We are in the process of compiling the report and it may be unveiled soon," said H Kantharaj, chairman, State Backward Classes Commission.

Chief minister Siddaramaiah, too, made his intention clear in his post-budget speech, which categorically mentioned dalits, Muslims and OBCs, the three numerically large communities in the state. He said only the Congress can protect their interests.

Why he's keen on making data public?

As there was no caste-based enumeration after 1931, numerous groups have been demanding the government make the census data public so that they could use it to seek higher representation. In such a scenario, Siddaramaiah is hoping to emerge as the protagonist in their fight for justice by facilitating intra-caste competition.

According to party strategists, the caste data can also change the way elections are fought in Karnataka. The data leaked last year projected the numbers of two politically dominant communities — Lingayats and Vokkaligas who have been traditionally supporting the BJP and JD(S) respectively — to be lower than believed. By making the figures public, the party hopes to woo Ahinda communities by promising to change the way the government has been granting reservation to various castes.

Not just caste reservation, the data has other interesting aspects that could shape political strategy and change the way party tickets are distributed. But some political experts believe making the census public will boomerang on the Congress and create social upheaval.

When the census statistics were was leaked last year, the Congress government received a lot of backlash, especially from Lingayat and Vokkaliga leaders. Many Congress legislators too had opposed it fearing the ire of major communities.

May weaken vote bank: Experts

"The census report may lead to an internal fight among Ahinda groups and weaken the traditional vote bank of Congress. Dalits, who constitute 24% of the state's population, are already fighting over reservation. Madigas, a prominent dalit sub-sect, are seeking implementation of the Justice Sadashiva Commission report while Chalavadi, Bhovia and Lambani sub-sects are opposing it," said Mahadev Prakash, a political commentator.

Political analyst Sandeep Shastri said the caste census report will have both positive and negative implications. "Figures of the nine dominant backward castes may see a sharp rise while dominant caste numbers are likely to decline steeply. The government wants to cash in on the projection of non-dominant OBCs and hope for no negative impact from dominant castes. At another level, the Congress could focus on non-dominant OBCs, keeping in mind that dominant castes are anyway not in its favour."

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News Network
March 12,2024

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The Congress on Tuesday attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi over Anantkumar Hegde's remark about amending the Constitution, asking whether he would take action against the BJP MP to demonstrate his commitment to the Constitution.

Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh hit out at the prime minister who is on a visit to Gujarat and Rajasthan and posed five questions to Modi.

"The prime minister is in Ahmedabad for the Sabarmati Ashram Memorial Project. While the prime minister is embracing the Mahatma for his political gains, will he commit to Mahatma Gandhi's ideals of non-violence, inclusivity, and equality?" he said in a post on X.

The Congress leader also asked whether PM Modi would take action against Anantkumar Hegde, the BJP MP from Karnataka, to demonstrate his personal commitment to the Constitution that he swore an oath to bear true faith and allegiance to.

Hegde, at a gathering at Karwar in Karnataka on Saturday, had said the BJP needed a two-third majority in both Houses of Parliament to amend the Constitution and 'set right the distortions and unnecessary additions made to it by the Congress'.

In his posers to the prime minister, Ramesh also asked whether PM Modi would explain the 14 paper leaks that have occurred in Gujarat over the last seven years.

'The Congress has announced a comprehensive plan, 'Paper Leak se Mukti' under its Yuva Nyay guarantees to tackle the issue. How does the Prime Minister plan to address it?' he said.

Ramesh said on crucial indicators of development, Gujarat fares poorly compared to other states.

'Gujarat does worse on retention of students in higher secondary education and spends less on public education than poorer states like Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh. Gujarat currently ranks 10th among 20 major states in terms of its population living Below Poverty Line,' he said.

'Despite the prime minister's public posturing on 'Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao', Gujarat ranks 15th out of 20 states in sex ratio. How does PM Modi reconcile the reality of Gujarat's socio-economic backwardness with the 'Gujarat Model' that he publicised in 2014 or the 'Double Engine' Sarkar model that he espouses today? the Congress leader said.

Ramesh said Prime Minister Modi will also visit Pokhran in Rajasthan, made famous exactly 50 years ago by Indira Gandhi as the site of India's first 'peaceful nuclear explosion', to celebrate India's indigenous defence capabilities which have incidentally been developed despite his best efforts.

'The share of expenditure on defence has fallen from 17.43 per cent of the Union Budget in FY19 to 13 per cent for FY25. As percentage of GDP, it has fallen from 2.13 per cent to 1.9 per cent between 2014 and 2024 - below the global standard of at least 2 per cent,' he said.

How does the prime minister intend to safeguard India's border or show China his 'Lal aankh' (red eye) without adequate expenditure on the armed forces, Ramesh asked.

'In the same vein, the prime minister has set up two committees in the last three years to investigate ways in which he can privatise or shut down the DRDO. The K VijayRaghavan committee has reportedly suggested that the DRDO's role be limited to research and development without being involved in developing prototypes or technology demonstrations,' he said.

'Instead, any production and further development would be done by selected private players. What is the prime minister's motivation in privatising defence research and development? Is it an attempt to bring his favoured industrialist friends into the industry through the backdoor?' Ramesh asked.

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News Network
March 13,2024

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An LPG tanker overturned on the Bengaluru-Mangaluru National Highway 75 on Wednesday morning. 

According to police, the tanker overturned at a curve near Double Turn, on Shiradi Ghat road, in Sakleshpur taluk, as the driver lost control.

As there was LPG leakage due to the mishap, the authorities have closed the highway for vehicular movement, as a precautionary measure.

The Fire and Emergency Services personnel and police were rushed to the spot and taken precautionary measure to prevent any fire mishap.

Several vehicles have been stranded midway as the police have closed the road for traffic.

The police have been diverting vehicles plying between Bengaluru-Hassan-Mangaluru, Mangaluru-Hassan-Bengaluru on alternative routes.

According to Deputy Commissioner C Sathyabhama, the vehicular movement has been banned on NH-75, until Wednesday midnight.

The DC's order stated that the vehicle moving from Sakleshpur to Mangaluru will have to pass through Sakleshpur-Hanubalu-Mudigere to reach Mangaluru.

The vehicles from Bengaluru to Mangaluru will pass via Hassan-Bhuvanahalli Cross-Belur. The vehicles from Mangaluru to Bengaluru are diverted via Suliya-Sampaje route. 

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News Network
March 16,2024

Mangaluru: In the wake of complaints regarding middlemen menace, sleuths of Lokayukta on Friday, March 15, conducted a raid at the Mangaluru Urban Development Authority. 

The Lokayukta team found unaccounted money and several files, which were not disposed of for a long period.

Lokayukta SP CA Simon said that the Lokayukta has received complaints that middlemen have been interfering in the MUDA office, and files pertaining to the public are not being cleared on time.

A raid that commenced in the evening on March 13, lasted for 18 hours. During the raid, Lokayukta officials found cash in a bag in MUDA office, and also with officials and others. MUDA officials could not inform the source of money found in their office, the SP said.

Further, he said that many people gathered at the MUDA office during the Lokayukta raid, and have raised complaints about the harassment at the urban development authority. “We have gathered evidence for MUDA officials carrying out file disposal processes through brokers on phone calls. The investigation on the MUDA network will be continued,” he said.

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