NEW DELHI: The Bharatiya Janata Party on Thursday upped the ante against the Congress-led Karnataka government after CCTV footage showed Bengaluru civic body workers randomly pasting stickers without collecting any data during the ongoing door-to-door survey of Scheduled Caste households in Karnataka.BJP MP PC Mohan shared the video in a social media post, dubbing the whole exercise a “comedy of errors.”“In 2015, the Congress government spent ₹170 crore on a caste census in Karnataka, then blamed dogs for its flaws,” Mohan said.“Now in Bengaluru, BBMP is pasting caste stickers without collecting any data. From dogs to data-less drama, Congress’s idea of social justice is a comedy of errors,” he added.In the CCTV footage, two BBMP workers were seen pasting stickers at a home and clicking pictures without collecting any data from the residents.This comes after the Karnataka government launched a survey to gather data on Scheduled Caste sub-castes for guiding its internal reservation policy.Chief minister Siddaramaiah called it essential for ensuring social justice and equitable distribution of benefits.“There are 101 sub-castes, including Left, Right, Lamani and others, but no empirical data is available,” he said, adding that the 2011 census lacked this granularity.The government decided to carry out fresh caste survey after apprehensions by some sections about the previous caste census data.The caste census report was, submitted to Karnataka cabinet, had recommended increasing reservations for Backward Communities from the existing 32% to 51%.The recommendation is based on the findings of the socio-economic and educational survey, also known as the caste census, which highlights that Backward Communities make up nearly 70% of the state’s population.The final report was submitted to chief minister Siddaramaiah in February 2024.The survey has faced opposition from various community groups, including dissenting voices within the ruling Congress party.While some leaders and organisations representing Dalits and OBC groups supported the survey’s publication, citing the Rs 160 crore of public funds spent on it, others continued to oppose its implementation.
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