Union Minister Karandlaje accuses K'taka govt of attempting to take away reservation by dividing Hindus

Bidar (Karnataka), Sep 19 (IANS) Union Minister of State for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises and Labour and Employment Shobha Karandlaje on Friday accused the Karnataka government led by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah of attempting to divide Hindus into various groups and take away the reservation benefits of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes through the caste census.

Speaking to reporters in Bidar, Shobha said, “Whenever Siddaramaiah faces failure, he resorts to the strategy of dividing castes. In 2013, he attempted to divide the Veerashaiva and Lingayat communities, even at the village level. This time, he is attempting to divide all castes in Karnataka in the name of caste census.

"He has created many new sub-castes, and along with that, he is also trying to divide Veerashaivas and Lingayats. Besides, he has created sub-castes such as Vokkaliga-Christian, Lingayat-Christian, Ganiga-Christian, and Nekara-Christian. Why are you doing this?”

She further stated, “This is a clear conspiracy to snatch away our reservations. If you want to become a Christian, you become one, there is no problem. But whoever converts to Christianity from SC, ST, or backward communities should identify themselves as Christians. Those who convert will get the facilities provided to minorities.”

“But today, by creating categories such as Vokkaliga-Christian, Lingayat-Christian, Veerashaiva-Christian and others, there is a conspiracy to divert the reservation benefits given to Scheduled Castes and Tribes to those who have converted to Christianity. This is a well-planned conspiracy by the Siddaramaiah-led government,” Shobha charged.

“Today, the time has come for all people of the Hindu religion to unite, setting aside caste and community differences. If not, we will be divided into many groups and they will take away reservations. What the British did, the Siddaramaiah-led government is doing now with the same British mentality,” she underlined.

The Karnataka government announced that a comprehensive Socio-Economic and Educational Survey will be held between September 22 and October 7, 2025 during the Dussehra holidays.

"The Social and Educational Survey will be conducted in the state by the Karnataka State Backward Classes Commission from September 22 to October 7. Around 1.75 lakh teachers will be deployed for this task. They will be provided an honorarium of up to Rs 20,000. The cost of teacher honorariums will be around Rs. 325 crore," CM Siddaramaiah stated.

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has stated that the Backward Classes Commission is expected to submit the report of the Socio-Economic and Educational survey, popularly known as caste census survey by December.

--IANS

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