Urges religious leaders to raise their voice against CM Siddaramaiah’s ‘divisive agenda’

Mysore/Mysuru: Former MP Prathap Simha has urged Hindu religious leaders and heads of various religious mutts to raise a united and strong voice against Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, accusing him of sowing divisions within Hindu society through his caste-related policies.

Addressing reporters in Mysuru yesterday, Simha alleged that Siddaramaiah is resorting to calculated political manoeuvres to safeguard his position. “By pushing for a caste survey under the pretext of studying social and economic status, he is taking strategic steps to secure his chair,” Simha charged.

He highlighted that the Union Government is already conducting a comprehensive socio-economic survey alongside the national census to gather data on family income, education, and social status, which would help frame Central Government policies and programmes.

However, Simha accused Siddaramaiah of deliberately misrepresenting this exercise as a caste census to deepen divisions among Hindus.

Simha further alleged that the survey conducted by the Karnataka Government includes references to the original caste of Christians, making the community appear numerically larger than it actually is. “Even Ministers voiced strong opposition to this during the recent Cabinet meeting,” he claimed.

He cautioned that listing Hindu castes and sub-castes separately while presenting Christians as a single block could create a distorted demographic picture. “This is a deliberate ploy to weaken Hindu unity,” Simha said, appealing to Hindu religious leaders to speak out strongly against what he termed divisive politics.

The former MP also expressed concern over the Government’s proposal to include the Kuruba community in the Scheduled Tribe (ST) category. He stressed that any community seeking ST classification must meet specific social, educational and economic criteria.

“A thorough ethnographic study must be carried out, and only if the Kuruba community meets the necessary eligibility should its inclusion in the ST category be considered,” Simha asserted.