The morning session of Justice Manjunath Commission’s public hearing in Tirupati came to a close here on Monday with intense sloganeering and minor skirmishes between members of BC and Kapu associations, on the Municipal Corporation of Tirupati (MCT) premises.
It all began when several BC associations staged a demonstration opposing reservation for members from the Kapu community, and voiced their opinion through slogans and placards. It was followed by another bout of sloganeering from the latter, leading to mild tensions on the premises.
Though both the parties staged a sit down, timely intervention of police prevented any untoward incidents at the venue. Some of the troublemakers were evicted from the venue and others were sent away.
Inclusion opposed
The first public hearing conducted by Justice Manjunath Commission here on Monday to ascertain the inclusion of 11 new castes in the Backward Classes (BC) category was met with stiff resistance from various BC associations.
Terming the step as ‘politically motivated’, members representing the Vaddera, Yadava, Rajaka and other communities opined that they would lose their livelihood if the reservation was awarded without enhancing the cap over the existing percentage. They further sought scientific categorisation of OBCs into backward, more backward and most backward categories. “There are about 136 castes in the BC category and adding another 11 communities, which have been enjoying financial, political and societal status, will be like leaving wild animals among domesticated ones,” remarked P. Radhakrishna, member of BC United Front. With regard to the minor skirmish which prevailed, before the afternoon session, the BC leaders urged the commission to conduct separate hearings in the future to prevent such untoward incidents. They also urged the commission to consider ascertaining social backwardness under three grounds — social status, location of habitation and profession. “There is no necessity for inclusion of new castes which fall under the peasant-based professions, as they enjoy a social status. BCs who are predominantly artisans and other workers are still subjected to exclusion,” opined Andhra Pradesh BC JAC Core Committee Member U. Sambasiva Rao.
Bharatiya Janata Party’s OBC Morcha President Jally Madhusudhan questioned the legal validity of the commission and wondered the purpose of such an exhaustive exercise in the absence of the same. He also sought to know the reasons for not forming separate corporations for several castes in the BC category.
However, the respective JACs of Kapu, Balija, Telaga and Ontari communities maintained that they were not after the current share of existing BC communities, but wanted their rightful share, which has been denied for long.
