Mandya (Karnataka), Sep 22 : Slamming the 'Socio-Economic and Academic survey', also referred to as caste survey, commenced by the Congress-led government in Karnataka, the Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Assembly R. Ashoka stated that Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's dictated caste survey is not official.

Speaking at a press conference in Mandya on Monday, Ashoka said that the caste survey encourages religious conversion.

"It is a survey that divides castes. CM Siddaramaiah has created a platform for conversion... 52 new castes have been created to include Vokkaliga, Dalit, and Vishwakarma communities into Christianity.

"They can show the numbers of castes they want as less or more. There are many castes among Muslims and Christians, but they are not revealing them. However, CM Siddaramaiah says there is discrimination among Hindus. Women are not allowed entry into mosques, and women must wear burqas. Thus, there is discrimination in all religions," he said.

In the state, Lingayats have the highest population, followed by Vokkaligas. CM Siddaramaiah is trying to change this proportion. He is dividing the Vokkaliga community itself. He has created new castes, he said.

It is not possible to conduct the survey in fifteen days. People will be traveling due to Dusshera. Therefore, it should be postponed. Moreover, the central government has already prepared for the census. The state government does not have the authority to conduct a census, he said.

Talking about GST reforms, Ashoka stated: "Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government has reduced GST to provide relief to the people. Taxes on daily essentials like butter and ghee have been reduced to 5 per cent. During the UPA government, there was 30 per cent tax on cement, TV, washing machine, and fridge, which has now come down to 18 per cent. The tax on restaurants, which was 21 per cent, has come down to 5 per cent. The tax on urea fertilizer, which was 18 per cent, has now been reduced to 5 per cent."

Due to the Congress government in Karnataka, the tax burden has increased, but PM Modi-led government has reduced it. This is good news for the poor, he said.

"CM Siddaramaiah and ministers are finding faults in this too. They should explain how reducing taxes for people causes loss. This government has increased the prices of 25 goods and services. Milk, water, vehicle registration, stamp duty'Gabbar Singh tax has been imposed like this. To fund the guarantees, an additional Rs 65,000 crore in taxes is being collected. There was no money in the government, so GST was imposed on small traders. At that time, false allegations were made that the Central government did it. If this government had any dignity, it should have challenged the Central government and reduced taxes. Let there be competition in tax reduction," Ashoka charged.

/IANS