Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) president N. Raghuveera Reddy has demanded that the State government pass a bill to include Kapus in the BC list during the next budget session and take a cabinet approval accordingly to pave way for the fulfilment of long-pending demand.
“If the Telugu Desam Party is committed to include Kapus in the BC list, it should send a resolution to Parliament. The Congress party will support the bill and get it cleared in both the Houses,” Mr. Reddy said here on Sunday.
Addressing the party’s Krishna district Kapu Cell programme, the APCC chief criticised the Telugu Desam Party government for sitting over the matter and delaying the issue.
“The TDP is trying to politicise the issue by instigating BCs. Kapus can be included in the BC list through a Constitutional amendment under Schedule 9. There is a provision for it, and it is time the Telugu Desam acted on its commitment,” Mr. Reddy said.
“There are differences of opinion among TDP leaders. While one section claims of the party’s commitment in according BC status to Kapus, the other, during a recent meeting in Guntur, opposed the move. This exposes the party’s political agenda,” he added.
Long-pending demand
All political parties, including the Opposition YSRC is in support of including Kapus in the BC list, and the Telugu Desam had to take the initiative in addressing the long-pending demand.
It has been two years since the elections, and the time taken by the government is raising people’s apprehensions, Mr. Reddy said.
The APCC chief added that Congress leaders wanted the government to place the recommendations of the Puttuswamy Commission before the public.
He claimed that the Congress would come to power in 2019 at the Centre, and that the stage had been set for Rahul Gandhi to become Prime Minister. “We want the Telugu Desam to fulfil its poll promises,” said Mr. Reddy. He also wanted Kapu leaders, irrespective of their affiliations to political parities, to participate in the Kapu Mahanadu programme in Tuni on January 31 and make it a grand success.
MLC C. Ramchandraiah, City Congress president Malladi Vishnu and other senior leaders spoke on the occasion.
