Constitutional norms do not permit allocation of quota for the Kapu community within the 10 % reservations announced by the Centre for the Economically Backward Classes (EBC), said Chief Minister Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy in the Assembly on Tuesday.
He was responding to a query by the Leader of the Opposition N. Chandrababu Naidu on the government stand on the issue of reservations for the community.
“My government proposed a quota of 5 % for Kapus, who have been feeling left out for years. My straight question is will you implement it or not?” he asked. Mr. Jagan, in his reply, cited a Supreme Court verdict saying reservations should not exceed 50 % in any State.
“But the Telugu Desam Party went ahead with its own design for political mileage,” he alleged, adding that Mr. Naidu took the Kapu community for a ride knowing that the proposed allocation of 5% quota within the 10% reservations for the EBCs would not stand the test of constitutional legality.
‘Huge allocation’
“The matter is being heard in the court of law now, “ he pointed out. He said his government was committed to the welfare of Kapus and would support any reservation for the community as long as it did not have any adverse impact on the BC quota. As mentioned in his party manifesto, funds to the tune of ₹ 10,000 crore would be allocated to the Kapu Corporation in the next five years for taking up various welfare programmes. “The first budgetary allocation of ₹ 2,000 crore has already been made,” he pointed out.
Mr. Jagan said the Kapus could see through Mr. Naidu’s political game plan and had reduced him to the status of an Opposition leader by voting against him in the elections. Referring to the TDP’s 2014 election manifesto, Mr. Jagan said the party had promised a financial assistance of ₹ 5,000 crore in five years but did not keep its word. In 2014-15, an allocation of ₹ 50 crore was made but this money was not spent. In 2015-16, only ₹100 crore was allocated and ₹ 96 crore spent, the next year (2016-17), only ₹ 490 crore was spent against an allocation of ₹ 1,000 crore, in 2017-18, ₹ 891 crore of the allocated ₹ 1,000 crore was spent and in 2018-19, only ₹ 565 crore of the ₹ 1,000 allocation was spent.
