Categorisation of BC seats in PR polls is Congress victory: Sravan
Welcoming the decision of State Government to implement categorisation of Backward Classes in reservation of seats in forthcoming Panchayat Raj elections, Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) Chief Spokesperson Dr. Dasoju Sravan described it as the victory of Congress party.
Hyderabad : Welcoming the decision of State Government to implement categorisation of Backward Classes in reservation of seats in forthcoming Panchayat Raj elections, Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) Chief Spokesperson Dr. Dasoju Sravan described it as the victory of Congress party. However, he demanded that BCs should get reservation in proportionate to their population which is 52% as per the Intensive Household Survey of August 2014.
Addressing a press conference at Gandhi Bhavan here on Friday, Sravan said that the government has reportedly conceded the Congress party's demand for BC categorisation in Panchayat Raj elections and a few reports that appeared in a section of media suggests that seats for BC would be reserved in A, B, C, D and E categories. He said this was a major victory of Congress party and it would lead to political empowerment of several BC groups with less population. He said that the Congress party has been fighting for this cause as it believes in social justice. He said several Congress leaders including TPCC President Capt. N. Uttam Kumar Reddy have been demanding BC categorisation.
A case has been filed before the Hyderabad High Court by Dr. Sravan on the issue whose next hearing is scheduled on June 25. The government is likely to give an undertaking before the court that it would categorise the BC seats. He said Congress wanted the categorisation of BC reserved seats in Panchayat Raj polls as it is done in jobs and education.
Sravan said that almost 100 of 113 castes/groups among BCs had no representation in Panchayat Raj or local bodies. Therefore, he said that the categorisation of seats should be done in a scientific manner based on the actual population of BCs. He reiterated the demand that door-to-door survey be done to get the exact caste/group wise BC population in Telangana State. Further, he said that the present 34% was based only on estimation. Therefore, he said that fresh enumeration should be done or the IHS data should be taken as base to implement 52% reservation for BCs. He said this would enable several so far unrepresented BC communities to elect their representatives in the forthcoming Panchayat Raj elections.
Citing an example, he said Karnataka Government has been implementing BC sub-caste reservation. Of 33% reservations, BC-A is getting 80% and BC-B 20%. He said a misconception was deliberately created among masses that the reservation percentage could not exceed 50%. He said there were lot of cases wherein the 50% ceiling has been crossed after government proved the backwardness of castes/groups with relevant data.
He said that the categorisation would benefit all categories of BCs. With 34% reservation, BC-A will get 8%; BC-B - 11%; BC-C-1%; BC-D - 9% and BC-E will get about 5%. He said this would also help in political empowerment of backward Muslim groups who are part of BC-E category. He said that the previous Congress regime implemented 4% reservation for Muslims and this time, the Congress party fought to increase their seat share in Panchayat Raj elections to 5%. He said compared to last elections, this time more number of Muslims will get elected as Sarpanches and for other posts.
AIPC to hold symposium on 'Integrating Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)'
Sravan, who is also the chairman of Telangana Chapter of All India Professional Congress, informed that the APIC would be organising a day-long symposium on “Integrating Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) with India’s Development Agenda - Inputs for Congress Manifesto 2019" in Hyderabad on Saturday. The UNDP has set up 17 SDGs which include No Poverty, Zero Hunger, Good Health & Well-being, Quality Education, Gender Equality and Clean Water And Sanitation among others.
He said that the symposium was aimed at getting insights from diverse fields and experiences in achieving sustainable development. This symposium is the first step to develop a development agenda that is aligned with SDGs. The inputs gathered would be our contribution to the Congress Manifesto in 2019, he said.
The symposium will be addressed by TPCC President Capt. N. Uttam Kumar Reddy, NDMA ex-Vice Chairman Marri Sashidhar Reddy, APIC South India Coordinator Dr. J. Geetha Reddy and experts from various fields.
