Siddaramaiah denies rift over caste survey, says talks still ongoing

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said on Friday that the state cabinet's discussion on the caste-based socio-economic survey remains inconclusive and denied reports of internal opposition.

"The discussion didn't conclude. It remained incomplete in yesterday's cabinet," Siddaramaiah told reporters in Ramanagara.

He dismissed media reports suggesting dissent among ministers on the issue. "No one opposed it, and as reported, no one spoke aggressively. Whatever is being reported is a lie," he said.

Siddaramaiah confirmed that the matter has been deferred and will be revisited in the upcoming cabinet meeting. "It has been kept for discussion in the next cabinet," he added.

Earlier in the day, Karnataka BJP President BY Vijayendra strongly criticised the Congress-led government over the controversial caste census, calling it "unscientific" and questioning its legitimacy.

Vijayendra accused Chief Minister Siddaramaiah of lacking clarity on the issue and slammed the government for proceeding without a clear mandate. He also alleged that over Rs 150 crore had been wasted on what he termed a flawed and unreliable story.

"First of all, there is no clarity with the CM regarding the caste census. When the state government did not have a mandate to do a caste census, how did they come to a conclusion?... Many communities, including the Jain community and the backwards classes, are contradicting the numbers shown in the report. The BJP has repeatedly stated that this census has not been carried out properly," Vijayendra said.

He further claimed that several community leaders reported no data collectors had visited their homes.

"More than Rs 150 crore has been spent. However, when we discussed this with many community leaders, they said that nobody had come to their houses," he added.

Vijayendra demanded that the report be scrapped, suggesting the Congress government may be more focused on creating divisions than delivering justice.

"The Siddaramaiah government has to reject this unscientific report... Maybe the CM is more interested in dividing the community... I doubt if the CM is actually serious about giving justice to the backwards class community," he said.

The special cabinet meeting on the Socio-Economic Survey concluded on Thursday, with Siddaramaiah asking ministers to submit their concerns in writing. The Karnataka government is likely to convene another round of cabinet discussions on the issue.