Infighting breaks out within the Congress over Karnataka ‘caste survey’ which shows drastic rise of Muslim population, decline of Lingayats and Vokkaligas: Details
The nefarious agenda of the Congress to divide the Hindu community along caste lines has backfired in the State of Karnataka, with party leaders fighting among themselves over a ‘caste survey’ conducted in 2015.
The Karnataka State Commission for Backward Classes, led by headed by H. Kantharaj, had conducted a caste census in Karnataka under the rule of Congress Chief Minister Siddaramiah a decade ago.
Interestingly, the Congress government ‘lost‘ the original report. And a revised report was submitted by K Jayaprakash Hegde in 2023 (again under the regime of Siddaramiah).
This was confirmed by none other than K Jayaprakash Hedge to reporters.
He pointed out, “It is true the original data compiled under the Kantharaj Commission could not be located. We had to rely on a sample-based methodology to compile the current report. It was the only viable option given the circumstances.“
The underlying causes behind infighting within Congress
OpIndia had previously reported how the Muslim population in Karnataka had increased by a whopping 5.16% in 4 years (2011-2015) as per this revised ‘caste census’ report of 2023.
Additionally, the population of dominant caste groups such as Lingayats and Vokkaligas seem to have declined. This was highlighted by none other than veteran Congress leader and former Chief Minister of Karnataka, Veerappa Moily.
“Some of the ministers openly said that the population of large caste groups — such as Lingayats and Vokkaligas — was found to be lesser than what had been previously extrapolated. When I released the report of the Chinnappa Reddy Commission during my tenure as chief minister in 1992, the population of Lingayats was much higher than the current report. How can the numbers go down after so many years,” he questioned.
This had drawn the ire of other Lingayats and Vokkaligas Ministers and MLAs within the Congress party, which have questioned the scientific basis of the ‘caste survey.’
One of the recommendations of the 2023 report submitted by K Jayaprakash Hedge was to increase OBC reservation from the existing 32% to 51%. With the EWS reservation of 10% and the SC/ ST reservation of 24%, the net reservation in Karnataka would stand at 85%.
This has also become the bone of contention within the party, with representatives of ‘backward communities’ seeking immediate implementation of the report’s recommendations.
The final nail in the coffin of the ‘caste survey’ was the miraculous categorisation of the relatively well-off community of Kurubas (the one which CM Siddaramaiah represents) as ‘most backward.’
Veteran Congress leader Veerappa Moily did not mince words before attacking the sitting Congress CM in an interview with The New Indian Express.
“There are whispers that Siddaramaiah is downplaying the numbers of influential castes,” he stated.
Moily further emphasised, “There is an increase in quota of 7% for communities such as Kurubas, which Siddaramaiah belongs to. The Kuruba community is classified as a “more backward” category in the Chinnappa Reddy commission. The new survey report has classified it as “most backward”. How can a “more backward” person become “most backward”?“
Several Congress leaders including Moily have expressed fears of ‘polarisation’ arising out of the existing report and demanded a fresh, door-to-door caste survey.
While the grand old party set out to divide the Hindu vote bank, it ended up creating warring factions within the Congress.
This explains why an otherwise stern, decisive and loudmouth Siddaramiah is now taking a softer approach, placating his own party members and vowing to promptly correct errors in the existing survey.
Congress and its anti-national agenda
After having failed to counter the BJP on issues of development, national security and cultural preservation, Congress has taken it upon itself to divide the Hindu community by exploiting existing fault lines.
Besides promising a caste census, the party has also assured to lift the upper limit on reservation in its 2024 election manifesto.
Rahul Gandhi himself has been campaigning with the slogan ‘Jitni abadi utna haq,‘ hinting at proportional representation in government jobs, admission to colleges and more.
This has the potential to further polarise and divide the society. Not only that, once such demands are fulfilled, it can extend to electoral politics.
Given that India’s demography is changing fast, it may not be long until certain religious communities like Muslims to demand fixed representation based on their population size. It would then be akin to setting the nation on the path to disaster.
The nefarious objective behind the caste census is to divide the Hindus into castes and unify the Muslims, rendering the Hindu majority helpless and weak in the face of Muslim vote bank consolidation.
The Congress party, led by Rahul Gandhi, thereby hopes to gain electorally through such a strategy and return to the corridors of power.
While the drastic implications of the exercise of ‘caste census’ may look far-fetched today, it will not take long for the country to plunge into chaos when dangerous ideas of proportional representation manifest in reality.
OpIndia had previously reported how the concept of ‘proportional representation’ turned out to be a disaster for a peaceful country like Lebanon and why India must be wary of it.
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