Bengaluru, May 6 (UNI) Former Prime Minister and Janata Dal (Secular) patriarch HD Deve Gowda on Tuesday came down heavily on Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, accusing him of "political hypocrisy" and inaction over the caste census during his earlier term.
Taking strong exception to the Congress government’s renewed push for a caste census, Gowda said Siddaramaiah had 16 budgets to act but "did nothing" despite claiming to be a champion of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.
"The Chief Minister calls himself a hero of SCs and STs. Let him first explain what action he took when he had the opportunity. His own ministers failed to defend him," the JD(S) supremo told reporters.
He criticised the Congress leader for "sitting on" the Kantharaju Commission and Nagmohandas Committee reports. "Now Siddaramaiah wants to teach the Prime Minister and the Home Minister about social justice? First, let him declare how many backward class members are in his own office," he added.
Affirming JD(S)'s support to the Union government’s caste-based enumeration, the former Prime Minister said, "We trust the Prime Minister and the Home Ministry. No community will face injustice. The Centre is handling this with due diligence and our party stands by its decision."
Deve Gowda also said that JD(S) leaders, including HD Kumaraswamy and Nikhil Kumaraswamy, were united in supporting the central initiative. "States like Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Telangana may adopt their own paths, but the Centre is proceeding in a structured way," he noted.
The Karnataka government on Monday began a comprehensive caste census among SC communities to collect sub-caste-wise demographic data. The survey will be held from May 5 to 17 in three phases, with oversight from retired High Court Judge Nagamohan Das.
Siddaramaiah, defending the exercise, said it aims to enable internal reservation and correct historical imbalances. Over 65,000 teachers have been appointed as enumerators for the exercise, which also includes online self-declaration and data verification camps.
The move follows an August 2024 Supreme Court order allowing states to introduce internal quotas for SCs based on empirical data.
The final report is expected within 60 days of completion of the field work.
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