Kapus demand for reservation unjust, say BC associations

Vijayawada/ Eluru/ Kakinada/Mahabubnagar: Upset over the moves being made by the State government to include Kapus in the BC list, BC Samkshema Sangham and other BC organisations across the State held dharna’s near district collectorates on Thursday.

While the police kept all the BC leaders under house arrest in Vijayawada, BC Sankshema Sangam activists in Guntur staged a protest near the premises of district collectorate They shouted slogans denouncing the government's political move to include Kapu community and said the Kapus were well-off and an enterprising community and their inclusion in the BC list would affect the BCs badly.

The speakers at the dharna hoped that wisdom would prevail on government and it would desist from such irrational decisions. In Eluru, the Backward Class people staged dharna in front of district collector office. Hundreds of BCs from all over the district reached the collectorate in a rally and staged the dharna.

The BC Welfare association district president V Kasi Visweswara Rao said that the BCs are socially, educationally backward people and hence Constitution had provided reservations for them. He said that the proposal to include Kapu community is against article 340(15) of the Constitution and demanded that the government immediately withdraw its decision to include Kapus in the BC list.

Later, they submitted a memorandum to District Collector. In Kakinada, large number of BC activists under the aegis of BC Samkshema Sangam organised demonstration in front of East Godavari collectorate. The activists who came from various places in the district raised slogans and displayed placards. BC leaders Pampana Ramakrishna, Gangula Surya Rao and Chollagi Venugopal reiterated their demand.

The leaders warned the TD government that they will intensify the agitation if it does not desist from its moves. Meanwhile, R Krishnaiah, National Backward Classes president, warned the TDP government in Andhra Pradesh of dire consequences if the Kapus are merged with BC community, as has been demanded by them.

While talking to media in Mahabubnagar on Thursday, Krishnaiah said that the Kapu community is highly developed community and it is unjust on their part to demand merging it into BC category. “Already the BCs are suppressed in many ways. Despite having more than 27 per cent of BC population, we are not being given proportionate representation in Jobs, education and politics.

Majority of BC are struggling to earn a living in the rural areas. If any political decision is taken by the TDP government we will not hesitate to go to any extent to resist the government’s move,” said Krishnaiah. Krishnaiah said that the Constitution and the Supreme Court had laid down parameters for the inclusion of any caste in the BC list.

Inclusion of a caste not meeting these parameters would only dilute reservation enjoyed by the weaker castes. On the other hand Krishnaiah took on the TRS government on dilly dallying on releasing notifications for various posts in the government. “There are lakhs of posts vacant in the government.

But the TRS government is not filling the post and passing the time by keeping the unemployed youth in limbo.” Krishnaiah warned the TRS government of another Telangana agitation by youth if the government fails to full fill its promise of providing jobs to lakhs of unemployed youth in the State.