Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge has taken strong exception to Karnataka Deputy CM D K Shivakumar’s opposition to releasing the report of the State caste survey conducted during Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's first term in office.
Intervening in a debate on the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganization Bill in the parliament on Monday, Kharge, when cornered by the treasury benches on the pending caste survey report, said that “all upper-castes are united on this.”
Kharge’s response was triggered by BJP MP and former Bihar deputy CM Sushil Kumar Modi’s assertion that Shivakumar, while holding office, has made his opposition to the report public.
“Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar has signed a memorandum that the report of the caste census should not be made public;” Modi said.
The Congress president was quick on his feet to clarify the party’s position on the issue.
“He said that our deputy CM is opposing caste census. He is doing it and they (BJP) are also doing it,” Kharge responded.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi joined the sharp exchange to underscore the differences in the Karnataka government.
“They have also warned the government that if the caste census report is made public, they will oppose it. They have said it clearly Kharge ji. You also come from Karnataka,” Joshi said.
Kharge responded to Joshi’s assertion alleging “all upper caste people are united internally on this. You are also there, and he is also there.”
After this brief exchange, Sushil Modi resumed the debate but not before challenging the Congress to make the report public.
“Kharge ji is sitting here. If he has courage, I request him to announce in this house that the caste survey report will be made public within a month,” Modi said.
I.N.D.I.A allies, especially those from UP, Bihar, and Tamil Nadu have sought to make holding a nationwide caste census a major political issue for 2024. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has also backed the demand, which he reiterated during the campaign for the recently held elections to the 5 state assemblies.
After Bihar government released its caste census data, Siddaramaiah has been facing increasing pressure to disclose the findings of a parallel study called the Socio-Economic Survey.
However, the results have not been made public after leaked information suggested a shift in the perceived dominance of Vokkaligas and Lingayats.
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