Caste census report must be discussed before making it public: K’taka Home Minister

Bengaluru : Karnataka Home Minister G. Parameshwara said on Tuesday that the caste census report must be discussed thoroughly before making it public.

“The public has the right to know what is in the caste census report. If there is no discussion over the report, people may develop doubts about it. The caste census report will be presented to the Cabinet for discussion,” the Karnataka Home Minister said.

He said that a sum of Rs 160 crores has been spent on the caste census. “And if the report is not made public, a huge amount will be wasted. People have a right to know what is in the report,” he said.

He added that implementing the caste census is a different matter, but the information from the report must be made public first.

Responding to questions about the reservation for Panchamasali Lingayats in 2A Category, internal reservations, and the caste census report, he said: “The state government and Chief Minister Siddaramaiah are fully capable of handling all these issues. We will have discussions and make decisions on how to address the concerns of various communities.”

He added that there is a directive that reservations should not exceed 50 per cent.

“In some states, they have exceeded this limit. Tamil Nadu has legally implemented 69 per cent reservation by adding it to Schedule 9 of the Constitution. In our state too, various communities are asking for increased reservation, which will require exceeding the 50 per cent limit,” he said.

He said that Siddaramaiah has announced that the caste census report prepared during his first tenure will be tabled in the Cabinet.