Congress MLC T. Jeevan Reddy has stated that the delay in increasing the reservation to Scheduled Tribes from the present 6% to 10% in proportion to their population, a pre-poll promise made by Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) in 2014, is denying them their due benefits for the last five years. Speaking to newspersons here on Monday, Mr. Reddy said there is a provision in the Constitution to increase reservation to STs in proportion to their population and there is no legal impediment to increase the quota as in case of other communities. The delay in increasing the quota had denied ST students 720 medical seats since formation of the State, Mr. Reddy said citing an example of the loss suffered by them. He alleged that Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao insulted Legislative Council by not attending it during the debate on the Appropriation Bill. As Finance Minister T. Harish Rao was made to reply to the debate, proper answers were denied to several issues raised by the members, he said.
There was no clarity on several issues, including the conduct of Teachers Eligibility Test (TET), which was supposed to be conducted every six months. About 2 lakh candidates are facing the threat of losing eligibility to appear for District Selection Committee (DSC) test conducted for teachers' recruitment as TET was not conducted for about 2 years now, Mr. Reddy pointed out.
Proper replies were not given to issues such as remission to prisoners who had already served seven years of imprisonment and financial help to the families of Gulf victims, he said.
‘Control corporate hospitals’
Meanwhile, the minorities wing chairman of Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) Shaik Abdullah Sohail has demanded that the State government bring in a legislation to set up a regulatory authority to control private and corporate hospitals in the State which are fleecing people in an organised manner.
Talking to reporters here on Monday after meeting Health Minister E. Rajender, the Congress leader said the Minister had assured to look into the demand. He stated that he had explained to the Minister how the private and corporate hospitals, nursing homes, clinics and diagnostic centres are fleecing people in the absence of any regulatory mechanism.
