Channagiri MLA Basavaraj Shivaganga accused the seven ministers of lacking the capacity to represent the community and demanded that they resign. He also alleged that Minister Eshwar Khandre had ignored his call, describing it as a sign of indifference.
Published Apr 16, 2025 | 4:54 PM ⚊ Updated Apr 16, 2025 | 4:54 PM
Karnataka Congress MLA Basavaraj Shivaganga
Synopsis: Congress leader and Channagiri MLA Basavaraj Shivaganga has demanded the resignation of all seven Cabinet Ministers from the Lingayat community for failing to convene a meeting of Lingayat MLAs to address the contentious caste census report. He accused the ministers of indifference and prioritising political ambitions over community interests.
Karnataka Congress MLA Basavaraj Shivaganga on Wednesday, 16 April, demanded the resignation of all seven Cabinet Ministers from the Lingayat community, accusing them of failing to act over the caste census report.
Shivaganga, who represents the Channagiri constituency in Davangere district, criticised the Lingayat ministers for not taking the initiative to convene a meeting of MLAs from the community.
On Monday, Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar, a senior Vokkaliga leader, held a meeting with Congress MLAs from the Vokkaliga community to discuss the report.
Vokkaligas and Lingayats are two dominant castes in Karnataka, together accounting for an overwhelming majority of the population.
Shivaganga urged the Lingayat ministers to organise a similar meeting to take a united position on the caste census report.
He accused the seven ministers of lacking the capacity to represent the community and demanded that they resign. He also alleged that Minister Eshwar Khandre had ignored his call, describing it as a sign of indifference.
He further accused the ministers of being self-serving and prioritising their own families and children’s political ambitions over community interests.
Meanwhile, the state Cabinet is expected to meet on 17 April to discuss the caste census report.
The Socio-economic and Educational Survey, commonly referred to as the caste census, was carried out in 2015 during the Congress government’s previous tenure and was submitted to the state Cabinet on 11 April.
Its findings have raised concerns among several political and religious leaders, especially with regard to the population figures recorded for different castes.
According to the report, Other Backward Classes (OBCs) form 70 percent (4,16,30,153) of Karnataka’s total population. The report also recommends a 51 percent reservation for OBCs.
Minister for Commerce and Industries MB Patil, a prominent Lingayat leader within the party, questioned the accuracy of the data.
“It is our fault that the number in the report is shown around 65 lakhs. But in reality they will be more than 1 crore. Some of them from the Lingayat community have recorded their castes as Hindu Banajiga, Hindu Reddy, Hindu Sadaras to take the existing benefit of category 2A,” he said.
Veteran party leader Shamanuru Shivashankarappa, who also presides over the All-India Veerashaiva Mahasabha, went further, terming the report “unscientific”.
“No one from the survey team ever came to our residence to collect the data,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Karnataka Akhila Bharat Veerashaiva Mahasabha has decided to carry out a separate census.
(Edited by Dese Gowda)
