BENGALURU: Scheduled Caste leaders, including ministers, are likely to urge Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to use the SCSP/TSP grants to conduct census of their communities to gather empirical data in order to implement internal quota.
The leaders held a meeting at Social Welfare Minister Dr HC Mahadevappa’s residence recently, and another meeting is likely on Monday evening, before approaching the CM, sources said.
Home Minister Dr G Parameshwara, Food and Civil Supplies Minister KH Muniyappa, and Backward Classes Minister Shivaraj Tangadagi, among others, are expected to take part in the meeting.
The Supreme Court on August 1, 2024, in its verdict, had said the states are constitutionally empowered to decide on internal reservation within the SC category based on empirical data.
Following this, the Karnataka cabinet had approved the implementation of internal reservation on October 29, and on November 13, set up a commission headed by former high court judge justice HN Nagmohan Das to gather the empirical data and finalise the structure of the quota by giving a three-month deadline.
The commission is yet to give its report to the government. There is confusion over the empirical data as to whether to consider the Socio-Economic and Caste Census done by the Centre in 2011 or not, given its validity.
If the State Backward Classes Commission’s socio-economic and education survey report, popularly known as the caste census data, was made public, it would have been considered. Since the government is unlikely to publicise the report or table it in the Legislature, the SC leaders want a separate census of SC/STs. “It may take one month or so to complete the census,” a leader said.
Because of the delay in the implementation of the internal quota, the government has stopped the recruitment in various departments as it would do injustice to the communities, unless and until their quota is defined.
At a time when the Opposition has attacked the ruling Congress government in the ongoing budget session over the issue of alleged diversion of SCSP/TSP grants to fund the five guarantees and other projects, the SC leaders are demanding a caste census using the same grants.