Chief Minister Siddaramaiah expressed strong confidence today that the ambitious Social and Educational Survey currently underway in Karnataka will be successfully concluded by its target date of October 7.
Speaking to reporters in Mysuru on Friday, Mr. Siddaramaiah acknowledged that the survey work faced initial delays of two to three days due to technical issues. However, he confirmed that the process has since picked up significant pace and is now progressing rapidly.
An official statement from the Chief Minister’s office released Friday evening highlighted the substantial progress. Out of a target of 14,377,978 households, 8,127,206 had been covered by October 2. Including the 935,044 households surveyed on October 3, the total coverage stands at 9,061,880 households, encompassing a population of 34,231,444. This brings the survey’s completion rate to 63.03% as of October 3.
Responding to Union Minister Pralhad Joshi’s remarks suggesting the survey aimed to divide people, the Chief Minister challenged the Union Minister to clarify the Centre’s own intentions behind any proposed caste survey. “Does the Centre intend to divide people based on caste and religion?” he questioned.
Mr. Siddaramaiah reiterated that Karnataka’s ongoing initiative is a comprehensive socio-economic and educational survey. Its primary objective, he explained, is to collect essential data on the living conditions of the populace, which will enable the government to formulate effective welfare schemes.
Addressing allegations that the government was facilitating religious conversions by introducing specific categories in the survey, Mr. Siddaramaiah dismissed them as attempts by the BJP to mislead the public. He clarified that the commission would only record details voluntarily provided by the citizens.
GST Rates and State Revenue Concerns
The Chief Minister also criticized the BJP-led central government for “patting its own back” over the recent rationalisation of Goods and Services Tax (GST) rates. He questioned the necessity of such self-praise when the same government had originally imposed these tax rates in 2017.
Mr. Siddaramaiah highlighted that for the past eight years, the Centre had been collecting taxes at higher rates, only to simplify them now, conveniently just before the Bihar Assembly elections. He provocatively asked if the Centre intended to refund the excess revenue already collected from the states.
He further pointed out that the rationalisation of GST would result in a significant loss of revenue for states, while the Centre would largely remain unaffected. He estimated a loss of ₹15,000 crore for Karnataka due to these GST changes, expressing the state’s difficult position of being expected to welcome tax rationalisation while simultaneously enduring substantial financial setbacks.
The Chief Minister also accused the Centre of unfair treatment towards Karnataka in the devolution of taxes, noting that the state received only 14% of the ₹4.5 lakh crore it contributed to the central coffers.
Additionally, he listed other financial injustices, including the denial of ₹5,490 crore in special grants from the 15th Finance Commission, ₹3,000 crore for lake rejuvenation, ₹3,000 crore for the Peripheral Ring Road in Bengaluru, and ₹5,000 crore promised for the Upper Bhadra project.
Concluding his critique, Mr. Siddaramaiah admonished Karnataka’s BJP MPs for merely praising Prime Minister Narendra Modi instead of actively advocating for the state’s legitimate share of central grants.