BENGALURU: With the Vokkaliga leadership putting up a united show in Bengaluru on Saturday on caste census, Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar promised that he will chalk out a “special strategy” to safeguard interests of the community.
“You need not worry about the census... I have a special strategy that I will not reveal openly. You can raise objections. But make use of the census as an opportunity... create greater awareness among the community by extensive publicity on all platforms, including media. I, too, will fund it,” Shivakumar, a Vokkaliga strongman, told community members. He added that the Vokkaligara Sangha could spend some money for the purpose. Shivakumar, who is also state Congress president, gave a patient hearing to the concerns of community’s religious heads and others at a meeting chaired by Adichunchanagiri Mutt seer Sri Nirmalanandanatha Swami.
The leadership had qualms about the community being undercounted in the previous census conducted by the Kantharaju Commission and wanted the new census to be postponed.
Both Sri Nirmalanandanatha Swami and Sri Nanjavadhutha Swami, Kunchitiga Vokkaliga religious head, credited Union Minister HD Kumarawamy and Shivakumar for ensuring that the Kantharaju commission report was not implemented. When Kumaraswamy was the CM, he declined to accept the report, citing that the member-secretary did not sign it.
Shivakumar maintained that he managed to convince the Congress high command to direct the state government to scrap the Kantharaju Commission report and conduct a fresh census. “Since Kumaraswamy and I were at the helm of affairs, we were able to safeguard the interest of the community.
At the cabinet meeting, the Veerashaiva-Lingayat community leaders -- ministers SS Mallikarjun, Eshwar Khandre, MB Patil, Dr Sharanaprakash Patil, among others -- had also extended their support and conveyed their opinion to the party high command, which ultimately intervened,” he recalled.
He added that AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge too intervened, as the 10-year-old Kantharaju commission report was obsolete.
It is to be seen whether Shivakumar takes up the issues of the community at the high command level or not.
DKS-HDK show rare camaraderie
Considered arch rivals, KPCC chief and Deputy CM DK Shivakumar and Union Minister HD Kumaraswamy showed a rare camaraderie as they exchanged pleasantries while sharing the stage. Shivakumar addressed the JDS leader as ‘Kumaranna’ during his address.