Bengaluru, June 12 (Reporter) Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said on Thursday that following a directive from the Congress high command and after extensive deliberations, the state Cabinet has now decided to undertake a fresh caste re-enumeration exercise to update the 2015-16 Socio-Economic and Educational Census (SECC) findings. Speaking to media after the Cabinet meeting, the Chief Minister said, “This decision is not mine alone, nor of the state Cabinet. It's a clear direction from the party high command.” He added that a series of ministerial and Cabinet-level meetings had culminated in detailed discussions this week, leading to the resolution taken on Thursday. The new survey will be simpler than the original, with officials suggesting only households needing updates may be revisited. Labour Minister Santosh Lad noted that only such households would be re-surveyed, though he admitted that the originally proposed 90-day deadline may be ambitious. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah initially proposed the survey be completed in 90 days, but recent discussions indicate a more realistic timeframe of 60-70 days. The All India Congress Committee (AICC) has pointed out that the existing data is nearly a decade old and urged the state to follow the Telangana model. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge also said that emerging OBC communities and demographic shifts must be accurately captured, necessitating a fresh count. The move comes amid community-level pushback. Leaders from the Lingayat and Vokkaliga communities have criticised the 2015 survey, alleging that their numbers were underreported. These groups have indicated they may reject the state’s findings and instead support the caste data being compiled by the Centre as part of the national census. Within the Congress party, the issue has caused internal divisions. While some senior leaders had earlier advocated for publication of the original survey, others have expressed fears that doing so could alienate dominant caste groups, potentially impacting the party’s electoral calculations. Meanwhile, the opposition BJP has accused the Congress government of using the caste survey as a political tool to divert attention from pressing issues, including recent public safety lapses such as during the stampede at a Bengaluru stadium. They have also questioned the cost implications of redoing a survey that had earlier cost the exchequer Rs 160 crore. Officials said the new enumeration will retain the original SECC parameters but will include online options for data submission. A special Cabinet subcommittee will finalise the methodology and terms of reference in the coming weeks. Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar assured that households that were missed in the previous round would be fully included in the upcoming process. The Congress government believes that accurate and transparent caste data will allow for recalibrated reservation policies and the expansion of Other Backward Class (OBC) quotas — from the current 32 per cent to the proposed 51 per cent — thus reaffirming the party’s commitment to social justice...////...