Bengaluru, Apr 15 (PTI) With just two days left for the Karnataka cabinet to discuss the Socio-Economic and Education Survey report, popularly known as the ‘caste census’, opposition to its implementation has gained momentum.

Opposition to the survey report, contents of which have not been released yet, has grown from various communities — especially the dominant ones. Political parties, including sections of the ruling Congress, have joined the chorus of criticism, terming it as “unscientific”, and demanding a fresh survey.

The Karnataka State Commission for Backward Classes’ report was placed before the cabinet on Friday, and it will be discussed at a special cabinet meeting scheduled on April 17.

Findings of the survey appear to contradict the “traditional perception” regarding the numerical strength of various castes, especially the dominant Veerashaiva-Lingayats and Vokkaligas. This has rendered the issue “politically sensitive”, with Ministers from these communities preparing to place their objections during the next cabinet, sources said.

The Vokkaligara Sangha, the apex body of the influential Vokkaliga community, on Tuesday officially registered its strong protest to the survey report.

Vokkaligas will unite with other communities like Veerashaiva-Lingayats, Brahmins among others, who have felt the “injustice”, and plan for mega agitation if the government goes ahead with implementation of the caste census report, the Sangha’s President Kenchappa Gowda and other office bearers said.

Calling on the Vokkaliga Ministers and legislators, especially from the ruling Congress to voice their opposition to the report, they said the Sangha has also planned to conduct its own survey of the community to determine its population, and has even prepared a software for it.

Sangha’s Director Nelligere Babu said that they would like to send a message to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah that his government will collapse if it implemented the caste census report.

The survey report, reportedly estimates the population of the Lingayat community at 66.35 lakh and the Vokkaliga community population is said to be at 61.58 lakh.

Veerashaiva-Lingayats too through their apex body, the All India Veerashaiva Mahasabha, have expressed similar reservations about the report and are contemplating similar measures.

Both communities have alleged that various sub-castes have been divided among different categories of OBC, resulting in a decrease in their respective populations. They have alleged that many households were left out from the survey.

Earlier, Deputy CM D K Shivakumar, who is also the state Congress president and a Vokkaliga, was a signatory along with a couple of other ministers to a memorandum submitted by the community to the CM, requesting that the report and the data be rejected.

The All India Veerashaiva Mahasabha, which has also expressed its disapproval vis-a-vis the survey and demanded the conduct of a fresh survey, is headed by veteran Congress leader and MLA Shamanuru Shivashankarappa. Several Lingayat ministers and MLAs too have raised objections.

Congress MLC Nagraj Yadav too expressed his reservation, saying that Yadava or Golla community has been divided under various categories of OBC, bringing down the community’s population to 10 lakhs, which according to him should be about 25-30 lakhs.

However, not everyone is opposed to the survey report.

Leaders and organisations representing Dalits and OBCs among others are defending it and wondering how it can be called “unscientific” without any discussion and deliberation at the cabinet.

According to the survey report, out of the total 5.98 crore citizens covered under the survey carried out in 2015, about 70 per cent or 4.16 crore come under various OBC categories.

The Commission has recommended increasing the OBC quota from the current 32 per cent to 51 per cent, according to official sources.

By providing OBCs a 51 per cent reservation, along with the existing 17 per cent for SCs and 7 per cent for STs, it will take the state’s total reservation to 75 per cent.

As per the report, Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (SC/ST) together seem to form the largest social block in the state with their population at 1.52 crore, official sources said.

As per the report, the population of Muslims, who alone come under Category-2B of OBC, is 75.25 lakh, and they have been recommended 8 per cent reservation from existing 4.

The general category population stood at 29.74 lakh, they said.

Meanwhile, Karnataka BJP President B Y Vijayendra alleged that Chief Minister Siddaramaiah was trying to create division in society with the caste census, aimed at protecting his own “political interests”, as the time had come for him to resign.

Criticising the report, Union Minister H D Kumaraswamy said, “What is it really — a caste census or a census of hate? Is this so-called census a conspiracy designed to deliberately provoke unrest in the state? Or is it merely a diversionary tactic to deflect attention from the embarrassment caused by relentless price hikes and a series of corruption scandals?” The Siddaramaiah-led Congress government (2013-2018) had in 2015 commissioned the survey in the state. The report was submitted on February 29 last year. PTI KSU ROH