Kharge distances from caste survey talks, leaves decision to Karnataka govt

Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge said he hasn’t seen the Karnataka caste survey report, stating it's up to the state government to decide. A special cabinet meeting is set for April 17 to discuss the report.

Kalaburagi : Amid the criticism over the caste census report in Karnataka, Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge on Thursday said that he wasn't aware of discussions held in the cabinet meeting or what the caste survey report entails while asserting that it was the prerogative of the state government to decide on the same. 

"It is left up to the state government. In every state, they will decide on their own. I have not seen the report or what was discussed in the cabinet," Kharge told reporters here. 

The caste survey has been officially titled the "Socio-Economic and Educational Survey," and a special cabinet meeting has been called today to discuss it. 

On Wednesday, Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara said that the Backward Class Commission has already submitted its report to the cabinet, and Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has advised the ministers to study it and come back with suggestions in the next meeting.

"The Backward Class Commission has submitted its report to the Cabinet, and the Chief Minister has advised us to go through this report and come back in the next meeting, specially called to discuss this report. This will be discussed on April 17. Community leaders' take will be looked into..." G Parameshwara told ANI.

Meanwhile, Siddaramaiah told mediapersons that their government would work hard to “build the kind of society that Babasaheb Ambedkar wanted to build.”

"Our government will work hard to build the kind of society Babasaheb Ambedkar wanted to build...A special cabinet meeting has been called to discuss the Caste Census report on April 17. It will be a single-subject discussion," Siddaramaiah said.

On the other hand, Union Minister HD Kumaraswamy questioned whether the census is beneficial for Siddaramaiah himself or the Congress party that provided him with political backing. He further remarked that Rahul Gandhi, unfortunately, seems to have failed to grasp the deeper implications of the census.