Working under Siddaramaiah for Karnataka’s progress; Cong will decide about making me CM in future: DKS

Bengaluru, Apr 11: In a significant development, the Karnataka Cabinet on Friday formally accepted the controversial Socio-Economic and Educational Survey, popularly known as the caste census, nearly a decade after it was conducted. The report will be taken up for detailed discussion in a special Cabinet meeting on April 17.

The survey was originally carried out in 2015 by the Karnataka State Commission for Backward Classes under the chairmanship of H. Kantharaj, and finalised in February 2024 by his successor, K. Jayaprakash Hegde. The long-awaited report—comprising 50 volumes of detailed caste- and community-related data—was placed before the Cabinet in a sealed cover, which was opened during Friday’s meeting.

Backward Classes Welfare Minister Shivaraj Tangadagi, while briefing the media, said the report would now be distributed to all Cabinet ministers so they could examine its findings ahead of the April 17 meeting. Though the government did not disclose the contents of the report, it sought to validate the survey’s legitimacy by presenting statistical data.

“As per the 2011 Census, Karnataka’s population was 6.11 crore. By 2015, when the survey was conducted, it had grown to an estimated 6.35 crore. The survey covered 5.98 crore people—a coverage of 94.17 percent,” Tangadagi said.
He added that only 37 lakh people, or 5.83 percent, were left out of the enumeration process.

Highlighting the scale of the operation, the minister said 1.6 lakh government officials participated in the survey. An expert committee was constituted, which developed 54 criteria to guide the data collection. The state government also engaged Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) to manage the survey data under a ₹43 crore agreement, with the total expenditure reaching ₹165 crore.

Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister H. K. Patil announced that a special Cabinet session will be held on April 17 to deliberate on the report's contents. When asked about concerns over the completeness of the data, Patil responded, “Even in the national Census, some people are left out. A 94 percent coverage is a very significant achievement.”

The caste census remains a politically sensitive issue in Karnataka. Dominant communities such as the Lingayats and Vokkaligas have questioned the methodology of the 2015 survey, alleging undercounting. In contrast, Other Backward Classes (OBCs) and SC/ST groups have welcomed the report, arguing that it sheds light on social realities long ignored.

The Congress party had pledged to act on the caste census in its manifestos for the 2023 Karnataka Assembly elections and the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. National party leader Rahul Gandhi has also been advocating for a nationwide caste census.

The Cabinet’s acceptance of the report comes just days after Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s meeting with Rahul Gandhi in New Delhi, and the Congress Working Committee’s session in Ahmedabad.

Six Ministers Skip Cabinet Meeting

At least six ministers were notably absent from Friday’s Cabinet meeting. These included:

    S. S. Mallikarjun and Laxmi Hebbalkar (both Lingayats)

    M. C. Sudhakar and K. Venkatesh (both Vokkaligas)

    R. B. Timmapur (SC)

    Madhu Bangarappa (Idiga community)

However, Minister Patil clarified that despite their absence, all ministers have endorsed the Cabinet’s collective decision, regardless of caste or community affiliations.

The US military has struck the western Yemeni oil port of Ras Isa, leaving dozens of workers and paramedics dead, and dozens more injured.

The facility in Hudaydah governorate was hit at least two times on Thursday night, with the second strike coming as civil defense and rescue teams were extinguishing fires and recovering victims. The second attack killed at least five paramedics.

The Palestinian Information Center and al-Manar TV now report that at least 38 people have been killed in that attack, while 102 others injured.

The Yemeni government slammed the attack as a clear war crime aimed at supporting the Zionist regime and enabling it to continue the Gaza genocide.

It said the strikes prove that the US deliberately attacks civilian infrastructure in Yemen with false justifications.

The government vowed that this crime would not pass without painful punishment, and the US would reap nothing but humiliating defeat and failure.

The US military claimed the port was a source of fuel for the Ansarullah resistance movement.

The governorates of Sana'a, al-Bayda and Hudaydah were also hit with multiple strikes.

The United States intensified its deadly attacks on the country last month at President Donald Trump’s direct orders.

Washington claims the raids are strictly aimed at protecting shipping activity around Yemen, alleging that the regional waterways’ maritime security had been endangered by Sana’a.

Yemeni officials have, however, roundly rejected such claims, underlining that the country only targeted vessels belonging to the Israeli regime and ships taking supplies to it.

The operations implemented by Yemen’s Armed Forces began in October 2023, when the Israeli regime, the US’s most cherished regional ally, began taking the Gaza Strip under a genocidal war.

More than 51,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have been killed as a result of the warfare, which receives hugely enhanced and unstinting arms support on the part of Washington.

Bengaluru, April 12: Karnataka is set to experience a fresh spell of rainfall across multiple districts from April 12 to 18, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD). The forecast comes on the heels of an unusually wet start to April, with most parts of the state already recording significantly above-average rainfall.

Data from the IMD reveals that Karnataka received 19.1 mm of rainfall in the first week of April—well above the state’s average of 4.7 mm for the period. The coastal region recorded 18.1 mm (compared to the usual 4.7 mm), the north interior region saw 13.9 mm (against 3.8 mm), and the south interior region reported a striking 23.8 mm (surpassing its normal 5.5 mm).

Out of Karnataka’s 31 districts, 25 experienced excess rainfall during the first week of April. Three districts received normal rainfall, one recorded deficient rainfall, and another remained dry.

The upcoming week is expected to bring moderate rainfall to a wide swath of the state, including:

Coastal Karnataka: Dakshina Kannada, Udupi, and Uttara Kannada

Southern and Central Districts: Bengaluru Urban, Bengaluru Rural, Chikkaballapur, Chikkamagaluru, Chamarajanagar, Hassan, Kodagu, Kolar, Mandya, Mysuru, Ramanagara, Shivamogga, Tumakuru

Northern Districts: Ballari, Davanagere, Chitradurga, Vijayanagara

Scattered rainfall is also forecast in several areas of north interior Karnataka.

Rainfall Outlook by Date:

April 12: Showers expected in Bagalkote, Belagavi, Dharwad, Gadag, Haveri, Koppal, and Vijayapura

April 13: Belagavi and Raichur likely to receive rainfall

April 14–16: Rain likely across all districts of Karnataka

Rainfall activity was already observed on Friday in parts of coastal Karnataka, north interior Karnataka, and isolated pockets of the south interior region. Mangaluru (Dakshina Kannada) recorded 4 cm of rain, while several areas in Yadgir—including Kakkeri, Shorapur, Saidapur, and Gabbur—each received 3 cm. Similar amounts were recorded in Jalahalli (Raichur) and parts of Bidar district.

With more wet days ahead, the rainfall is expected to bring some relief from the heat as Karnataka continues into the heart of summer.