Chief Minister Siddaramaiah speaking to reporters at Sambra airport in Belagavi on Saturday.
| Photo Credit: P.K. BADIGER
The report on the Socio-Economic and Educational Survey, or the caste census, will be tabled in the Assembly and Council after discussion in the Cabinet, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said in Belagavi on Saturday.
He was responding to demands by BJP leaders N. Ravikumar and others that the report should be discussed in a special session of the House before being accepted or rejected.
“The caste census is a part of the Congress party manifesto. It is essential to understand the various levels of backwardness or progress made by various communities. All the courts seek empirical data before allowing governments to provide reservation or social welfare measures. It is basic information about society. We need to understand changes in society since Independence in order to make policies. It is essential. It will be discussed in the Cabinet first and then the Legislature,” he said.
He brushed aside complaints by some BJP leaders that the survey was not carried out scientifically. The enumerators have reached an average of 95% households in the State, he said. “They include 98% in rural areas and 94% in urban areas. No survey can reach 100% of the population. That is a fact. Even the 2011 census conducted by the Centre did not reach 100%,” he said.
Published – April 12, 2025 08:32 pm IST
