Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.
Credit: PTI File Photo
Bengaluru: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said on Tuesday that there is no opposition in the Congress for the implementation of the socio-economic education survey report, popularly called the caste census.
"There is in-principle agreement in our party to the caste census. Due to the misinformation by opposition parties, there are some baseless suspicions amongst a few. We will resolve these doubts and soon implement the report," the chief minister said.
Siddaramaiah had said on Monday that the caste census report is likely to be tabled in the Cabinet meeting on October 18.
Siddaramaiah said he was relieved by Leader of the Opposition (LoP) R Ashoka's statement that BJP is always in favour of the caste census and asked the latter not to backtrack from his statements.
Attacking Ashoka for asking why the report is being pushed forward all of a sudden, the chief minister said: "The Congress has been thinking about this ever since coming to power. We believe in democracy and will not take dictatorial decisions without consultations. That's why it has been delayed a bit."
In its manifesto for 2024 Lok Sabha polls, Congress had promised a nationwide caste census, Siddaramaiah said, adding that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has been emphasising it regularly.
He stepped up the attack on the LoP, daring the latter to urge Prime Minister Narendra Modi to conduct a caste census along with the national population census.