Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has deferred the tabling of the much-anticipated caste census report in the cabinet meeting on Thursday. Initially, he was keen to accept the Socio-Economic and Education Survey report, the informal term of the caste census report. He made the statement of presenting the report just three days before, but on Wednesday, he said they were not presenting it now but would raise it at the next cabinet meeting; he was citing the need for further discussions and consultations.

Thursday's cabinet meeting’s agenda was initially detailed as “opening of a sealed cover of the study report on the data of the Social and Educational Survey - 2015 submitted by the Karnataka State Backward Classless Commission.” Still, after the Chief Minister's statement in New Delhi, it was deleted from the revised agenda.

The survey was conducted between 2013 and 2018 when Siddaramaiah was the first Chief Minister and H Kantharaju was the head of the Karnataka State Permanent Backward Classes Commission. It was presented by the then chairman Jayaprakash Hegde in February last year. Since that time, Vokkaligas and Lingayats, the religious heads of this well-known community, have objected to the report.

At an event in Vijayanagar district on Sunday, Siddaramaiah said that despite all the opposition, the government would indeed present it before the cabinet as Rs 160 crore was spent for preparing the report. "We will take necessary action in the coming days,’’ he said on Wednesday in Delhi.

Interestingly, just hours before his statement Karnataka Home Minister Dr G Parameshwara announced that the report would be tabled in the cabinet on Thursday. He expressed that the government used up taxpayers' money on the survey and had to inform the public of what it contained. “Accepting it or not is up to the government. We all will get to know the abstract of the report,’’ he further said.