Caste census will not divide society, says Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah

Mysuru (Karnataka) [India], October 7 : Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Saturday said that the caste census will not "divide" the society.
He was speaking to the media at Mysuru airport.
While responding to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's remarks on the caste census, Siddaramaiah said, "We must build an equal society to implement poverty alleviation programmes."
"We need to know which community has remained socially, economically and politically backwards even after 76 years of independence. Ours is a caste-based society. Statistics are necessary to bring the socially, economically and politically backward castes to the mainstream," he said.
"That is why we need a caste census. Social and economic survey as well as caste census has to be conducted. This will definitely not divide the society," he added.
After the Bihar government released caste survey data, Congress leader and Lok Sabha MP Rahul Gandhi endorsed the slogan of 'Jitni Abadi Utna Haq' saying that population-based rights were a pledge of the Congress.
Hitting back, PM Modi said that the chorus itself raises questions about the basic policies of Congress.
"Congress has started speaking a new language due to its hunger for power. What are they saying these days? Jitni Abadi Utna Haq (population-based rights)...When you (Congress) say this, you are raising questions about your basic policies," PM Modi said at a rally in Telangana earlier in the month.
Meanwhile, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has announced that the state will conduct a caste-based census like done in Bihar.
Earlier, the Nitish Kumar-led Grand Alliance government in Bihar released the report of a caste-based survey on October 2. The Congress is an ally of the government in Bihar.
The report said that the Other Backward Class (OBC) and Extremely Backward Class (EBC) together account for 63 per cent of the state's population.