Mandya (Karnataka), May 2 Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Friday said that neither the BJP and the RSS believe in social justice nor are they committed to it.
"If we look at their hundred-year history, they (the RSS) have always opposed social justice. From the time of Nalwadi Krishnaraja Wadiyar’s Miller Commission till now, they have consistently stood against it. The RSS, which was founded in 1925, will complete 100 years in 2025. They have never accepted the idea of reservation," he said, while interacting with the media at Srirangapatna taluk of Mandya district.
Siddaramaiah asserted that a social, educational, and economic survey is essential.
“Rahul Gandhi has been persistently stressing this issue for the last two years. It was at his insistence that this was included in the Congress manifesto. Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge even wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi regarding it. After continued pressure and advocacy from all these leaders, the Central government has now said it will conduct a caste census. However, they have not announced any timeline. They claim it will be part of the general census,” he said.
Siddaramaiah also emphasised the need to increase the ceiling on reservation through a constitutional amendment.
“The Supreme Court’s Constitution Bench has ruled that reservation should not exceed 50 per cent. But if the reservation is capped at 50 per cent, how can it be proportional to population?” he questioned.
Reservation for the backward classes is absolutely essential and necessary, he said.
"It is crucial to provide reservation to those who are socially, economically, and educationally backward. Only when everyone is socially and economically empowered can we move toward building an equal society. That alone will make it possible to eradicate caste," he said.
He also urged that the reservation be extended to the private sector.
“We must lift the 50 per cent cap on reservation and bring it into the private sector as well,” the Chief Minister said, adding that he would press the Prime Minister on the matter.
He insisted that the timeline for the caste-based survey must be finalised and that, along with implementing the recommendations of the Justice Rohini Commission, a comprehensive social, educational, and economic survey must be carried out.
Home Minister G. Parameshwara, responding to a question on the caste census, said: "The last caste census was conducted in 1931. After that, those who believed that the caste system should be eradicated decided to discontinue it. However, a caste census was carried out in Karnataka. Our intention was to bring the oppressed communities into the mainstream. Accordingly, while defining the terms of reference, we emphasised the need to study their socio-economic and educational conditions."
"In the process, the enumeration of various communities was also carried out. Now, it is a welcome step that the caste census will be conducted at the national level. Rahul Gandhi has long advocated for this. Even during the Karnataka exercise, he insisted that such a census must also be conducted across the country," he said.
Parameshwara noted that the Chief Minister has stated that in the upcoming budget, programmes will be designed based on the recommendations of the caste census report.
Asked whether the state’s caste census report would become redundant now that the Centre is conducting a nationwide exercise, Parameshwara replied that there is no need for concern. "The state’s report will serve as a supporting document," he maintained.
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