Expressing regret that the Kapu Reservation Bill was stuck with the Central government for more than seven months after its passage in the Assembly, Kapu leader Mudragada Padmanabham on Sunday said he would suggest remedies to Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu if he was keen on fulfilling his promise.
Slams Jagan
He criticised Opposition leader YS. Jagan Mohan Reddy’s pessimistic view and dubbed his promises on removal of police cases on Kapus trivial and irrelevant gesture.
“I have held discussions with intellectuals and advocates and will submit a proposal [to CM] on how to sort out the issue,” he said.
Addressing the media on the sidelines of the Kapu Seva Samiti anniversary celebrations at Gudivada, Mr. Padmanabham said his community would stand by whichever party supported their cause. They did not want mere rhetoric considering them as a vote bank.
He said the statements by Mr. Naidu and Mr. Jagan that they would give ₹5,000 crore and ₹10,000 crore respectively to the Kapu Corporation were like seeking to buy the community in auction.
He recalled that Mr. Reddy had endorsed Mr. Naidu’s promise in the Assembly on the reservations and even insisted that it was the restoration of the quota which the Kapu, Balija, Telaga and Ontari communities had enjoyed during the British regime they were asking for.
The Kapu leader questioned whether Mr. Jagan would make a leader in his party belonging to the Kapus, the BCs or the Dalits the Chief Minister if he gave ₹20,000 crore.
He welcomed Jana Sena president Pawan Kalyan’s promise to strive to get Kapu reservations included under the 9th Schedule of the Constitution.
The Assembly had passed the A.P. Kapu (Reservation of Seats in Educational Institutions and of Appointments or Posts in Services under the State) Bill in December 2017.
