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Chalavadi Narayanaswamy, leader of the Opposition in the Karnataka Legislative Council, said on Wednesday that the Congress government has brought up the caste census issue to divert attention from the Bengaluru stampede.
Speaking to ANI, Narayanaswamy emphasised that the caste census conducted by the Centre will give the real picture, not the Karnataka government's one. "The Congress High Command called the state Chief Minister and the Deputy Chief Minister about the (Bengaluru) stampede... Because of their mismanagement, 11 people died and many were injured... To protect the CM and the Deputy CM, they are trying to divert this issue with a caste census... The Centre is going to conduct a census very shortly. They will give the real picture, not this (Karnataka) government," Narayanaswamy said. Earlier on Tuesday, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy CM DK Shivakumar met Congress top leadership at Indira Bhawan in Delhi. After the meeting, CM Siddaramaiah said, "Discussions were held regarding the caste census. This was brought up as some organisations, religious heads, and even a few ministers have raised concerns. The report submitted on the caste census has been accepted in principle. There is an agreement that a caste enumeration should be conducted. We have also agreed to this. However, we will conduct a fresh survey. Since the last enumeration was done in 2015-16, there is an opinion that a new enumeration is necessary. Just as we are conducting surveys for Scheduled Castes, we will carry out another enumeration. It was discussed that this survey should be completed within 90 days." Speaking on the Bengaluru stampede, the Karnataka CM said that he discussed the incident and explained the measures taken to the party leadership. "A magisterial inquiry is underway, and a judicial commission has been appointed, led by retired Justice Michael Cunha. Five police officers have been suspended, intelligence officers have been transferred, and the political secretary has been relieved. We explained these actions, and there is a consensus that the measures taken are appropriate... The Kumbh Mela incident should be discussed first before addressing this issue. I am not using the Kumbh Mela deaths to defend this incident. When people die, it is human to feel sorrow. This incident should not be politicised," CM Siddaramaiah said. Congress MP KC Venugopal said that the meeting discussed two to three crucial issues, including the caste census and the Bengaluru stampede. Speaking to the media, Venugopal said that as some people have "apprehensions" about the caste census data, the top leadership of Congress has suggested that the Karnataka government re-enumerate the data. (ANI)
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