Bengaluru: Former chief minister Siddaramaiah Sunday was confident the govt would implement the socio-educational survey, popularly known as the caste census, and urged it to take steps to get the Karnataka high court’s stay on the exercise vacated.Speaking at a felicitation event organised by Karnataka State Federation of Backward Classes, which drew close to 5,000 people, Siddaramaiah said the govt should publish the survey report submitted by the state backward classes commission.“Before I stepped down as CM, I accepted the report,” he said. “However, the court said it should not be published. The HC stay should be vacated. I am confident our govt and party will heed my words and publish it.”The event was projected as a show of strength for the Ahinda mass leader, but the turnout was relatively modest. Despite the subdued attendance, the former CM continued to receive a vociferous response from the gathering.Reiterating that getting the survey conducted and published remained his dream, he accused Union minister HD Kumaraswamy of rejecting the report of the H Kantharaj-led backward classes commission, despite then backward classes welfare minister and now animal husbandry minister C Puttarangashetty, arguing in favour of the report.Siddaramaiah also sought an increase in reservation for backward classes, saying quotas should extend beyond education and employment to the political sphere. He demanded that reservation for all backward communities be increased to a total of 75%.Ahinda ours: DKSMeanwhile, at a separate event, chief minister DK Shivakumar sidestepped the caste census issue but said the govt would work towards ensuring social justice.“Ahinda is ours,” Shivakumar said. “It is the ideology of Congress party, and under our leader Rahul Gandhi, along with former CM Siddaramaiah, KPCC president BK Hariprasad and other ministers we will work towards ensuring social justice.”Earlier, deputy CM G Parameshwara said Siddaramaiah remained the biggest leader of the AHINDA community and credited his political movement with creating political traction enjoyed by the community.“He is a leader in his own right and different from others,” Parameshwara said. “If anyone believes he stepped down from power, then they could not be more wrong. The associations and federations should take up the mantle of fighting for the justice of all Ahinda communities and together with Siddaramaiah we will fight for it.”
