A.P. Commission for Backward Classes Chairman Justice K.L. Manjunath said here on Monday judging the merit of the arguments of 61 castes for inclusion in the long list of the Backward Classes (BCs) was a formidable task as the issue had been pending for over two decades.
The drastic change in the extent and types of socio-economic backwardness that have since taken place in society makes the job of the Commission difficult.
Equally tricky was the task of regrouping the BCs for which 32 castes had applied, as they feared that the quantum of reservations which they were entitled to would come down.
“The Commission is, therefore, doing a scientific re-assessment of the multiple criteria that formed the basis of the reservations provided for education and employment. It is up to the Government to work a way out on giving better political representation to the downtrodden sections,” Justice Manjunath said in a public hearing on the inclusion of Kapus in the list of the BCs and reorganising the groups within the Backward Classes at the Siddhartha auditorium here.
He observed that the Commission was obviously bound by the terms of reference of the Andhra Pradesh government and past judgements of the Supreme Court like the one it delivered against reservations in excess of 50% as per Articles 15 (4) and 16 (4) of the Constitution in Indra Sawhney and others V/s the Union of India.
Protest
The BC associations strongly protested against the proposed inclusion of Kapus in the list of the BCs, by dismissing as false the dominant community’s argument that a vast majority of them were leading a hand-to-mouth existence.
Andhra Pradesh BCs Welfare Association President R. Krishnaiah, BC Janasabha President G. Gangadhar and other leaders contended that reservations were provided to the numerous castes within the BC category not because they were poor but on the basis of their vocations which had historically forced them to keep moving from one place to another to eke out a living, and bear discrimination by the well-off castes.
Saying poverty could not be taken as the sole criteria for determining the eligibility of a particular caste to be included in the long list of the BCs, Mr. Krishnaiah said the BCs were the worst affected in terms of the social stigma and deprivation of opportunities in education and employment.
A.P. Kapu Corporation Chairman Ch. Ramanujaya, Akhila Bharata Kapu Samakhya President Naraharisetti Srihari and others said the Kapus had no animosity with the BCs and did not wish that they should be given reservation at the cost of the BCs.
The Commission could see for itself the plight of lakhs of Kapus, they added.
