Congress decides to re-enumerate caste data in Karnataka to address concerns

Congress in Karnataka decides to re-enumerate caste data to address concerns, reviews Bengaluru stampede handling, and criticizes central plan allocation.

The Congress top brass on Tuesday (June 10, 2025) said it has decided to hold re-enumeration of caste data in Karnataka to address concerns of some communities who complained of being left out of the survey that was conducted 10 years ago.

The decision was taken at a high-level meeting of the party that also reviewed the government’s handling of the Bengaluru stampede that claimed 11 lives on June 4.

The caste census emerged as one of the key State issues discussed in a meeting where Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, senior leader Rahul Gandhi, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) President and Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar were among those present.

Briefing the media after the meeting, AICC General Secretary K.C. Venugopal said: “The caste census was discussed. The Congress party is thinking that whatever the Karnataka government has done in the caste census should be agreed to in principle. But there are some apprehensions from some sections and communities about the counting of the caste.” He noted that the state government had conducted the caste census a decade ago and the data was now outdated.

“The Congress party has suggested to the chief minister to do a re-enumeration process within a stipulated time, say 60-80 days. This is what we decided about the caste census in the meeting,” he added.

The move comes close on the heels of the Centre announcing the schedule of the national Census with caste enumeration. The Congress leadership also discussed the current political situation and other issues, including the tragic June 4 stampede in Bengaluru that claimed 11 lives during Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s IPL victory celebrations outside the Chinnaswamy Stadium.

The chief minister and the KPCC president briefed the leadership about the incident and the action taken by the state government, Venugopal said. “Certainly, we are very much concerned about every human life. An unfortunate incident has happened. The government of Karnataka has already ordered a judicial inquiry to find out what exactly happened,” he said.