No uproar in cabinet: Siddaramaiah

Bengaluru: CM Siddaramaiah on Friday denied reports of dissent within his cabinet over the caste census report. He asserted that no minister opposed the report and rubbished claims of any heated exchanges during the cabinet meeting held Thursday evening.
"It (caste census report) was discussed in the cabinet yesterday, it was incomplete, and it has been posted to May 2. No one has opposed it," Siddaramaiah said, reacting to media reports suggesting loud arguments between ministers. "Media reports that some ministers were involved in a loud argument with each other are false," he added.
Deputy CM DK Shivakumar also denied any confrontational tone in the cabinet meeting. "We have shared thoughts, that's all. Speaking in raised voices or arguments, nothing of that sort happened. Suggestions were given," he said.
It may take a year: Jarkiholi
While the top leadership of the Congress sought to present a united front, PWD minister Satish Jarkiholi — considered close to Siddaramaiah — offered a more cautious outlook on the report's future. "It (implementation) is not something that will happen tomorrow. It may take one year because there are issues, and they are complicated. If everyone has to be pacified and taken into confidence, many meetings have to be held, and the govt has to be in a compromise mode because this cannot be done all of a sudden," Jarkiholi said.
He acknowledged internal complexities and potential political sensitivities surrounding the report. "There would be no problem for oppressed communities or Vokkaligas and Veershaiva-Lingayats. The govt is being run by all communities, and a decision will be made based on consensus," he added.
Jarkiholi pointed out that the report, submitted to the govt in Feb 2024, was nearly a decade old and the cabinet has taken it up for consideration only now.