Manda Krishna wants government to rectify deficiencies in SC categorisation report before enacting legislation

MRPS chief Manda Krishna Madiga. file
| Photo Credit: RAMAKRISHNA G

Madiga Reservation Porata Samithi (MRPS) founder president Manda Krishna has urged the State government to rectify the lapses in the report accepted for categorisation of Scheduled Castes to ensure equitable justice to all sub-castes within the SCs.

Welcoming the government’s initiative to categorise Scheduled Castes in line with the verdict of the Constitutional Bench of the Supreme Court, he requested the government to categorise SCs into four groups proportionate to their population ratio. If the government intends to classify SC sub-castes on the basis of their backwardness, the same principle should be applied for the three groups into which the government proposes to classify them.

Mr. Manda Krishna who called on Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy on Tuesday (February 11) submitted a memorandum to the latter seeking rectification of lapses that went into the report. He recalled that the government proposed to provide 1% reservation to 15 sub-castes in Group-1, 9% to 18 sub-castes in Group-2 and 5% to 26 sub-castes in Group-3 out of the 15% quota for the Scheduled Castes.

However, the categorisation of these sub-castes was not unbiased and was not done scientifically leading to some lacunae. He cited that the Madiga sub-caste which was highest in terms of population comprising 62% (32.33 lakh) was meted out injustice. In contrast, Malas comprising 29% of the SC population (15.27 lakh) and were developed on all fronts were given more reservations.

He said steps should be taken to place the most socially, economically, educationally and politically backward sub-castes should be placed in Group-3 while sub-castes like Malas who benefited in terms of education, employment and finances should be classified as Group-4.

He urged the Chief Minister to redress the concerns of the most backward sub-castes in view before enacting a legislation on SC categorisation so that equitable justice was provided to all sub-castes in Scheduled Castes.