Udupi: Member of Karnataka Legislative Council Kota Srinivas Poojary has demanded the state government to release the data collected from caste census in the state before March 15 as promised by it earlier.

Speaking to the press reporters here, MLC noted that around two years earlier, Congress party led Karnataka state government had initiated caste census for the first time in the state after independence to know the status of weaker sections of the society. However, after obtaining the data from the census conducted, the government hasn’t yet released any information on current status of backward and others castes of Karnataka.

Karnataka government has spent around Rs 189 crore for the caste census. According to a leaked information, the number of castes in the state have risen sharply from 800 to 1350. Reacting to the phenomenon, Poojary said that the number of people can be increased, but how it is possible to trust the fact that the number of castes in Karnataka have risen? Blaming the government he said that the government is playing tricks and some castes have been created by it. To clear all these issues, the state government should release the data obtained by caste census by March 15.