Senior Congress leader and former Union Minister M. Veerappa Moily has called upon Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to make public the report of the state's caste census.
Moily, who previously served as the Union Law Minister, emphasized that the caste census had been carried out by the Karnataka State Backward Classes Commission, chaired by H. Kantharaj, during Siddaramaiah's earlier tenure as Chief Minister, spanning from 2013 to 2018. The report was subsequently submitted.
Moily pointed out that the report was available to the governments of H. D. Kumaraswamy, B. S. Yediyurappa, and Basavaraj Bommai, who held the position of Chief Minister between 2018 and 2023. He suggested that their lack of action on releasing the report indicated their disinterest in doing so.
Responding to whether he wants the current state government to follow Bihar's example by releasing the report, Moily highlighted the Congress party's commitment to serving the interests of backward classes whenever it holds power.
Moily also recalled his own past actions, citing the release of the Chinnappa Reddy Commission's report in 1992 during his tenure as Chief Minister. He released this report even though it had been prepared during the preceding administration led by Ramakrishna Hegde.
Moily specifically urged Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to promptly release the report, emphasizing that now that the Congress government is in power and Siddaramaiah has assumed the role of Chief Minister, it is his responsibility to do so.
He suggested that if there are issues of "injustice" towards certain communities within the report, Siddaramaiah can address them after releasing it, and there should be no technical obstacles to prevent its publication.
Â
