Days ahead of the Assembly election in Telangana, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday set in motion the process of setting up a committee that will go into the issue of sub-categorisation of the Madiga community within the Scheduled Castes, a long-pending demand.
Government sources said Mr. Modi met with Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba and other officials for this purpose.
No other detail was provided on the timeline of the setting up of the committee on sub-categorisation.
Also read: PM’s promise for sub-categorisation of Madigas aims for the long term
During a programme organised by community leader Manda Krishna Madiga on November 11, Mr. Modi promised that his government was committed to providing sub-categorisation to the Madiga community. “From today onwards, Manda Krishna, founder of the Madiga Reservation Porata Samithi (MRPS), is my leader in the movement to end the decades of injustice being done to the community. I will be on his side till you all get justice,” Mr. Modi said, while addressing the community at that rally.
The Madiga community constitutes at least 50% of the total Scheduled Castes in Telangana. The 2011 census puts the total SCs at a little over 15% of the population of the State. For years, the Madiga community has said that the benefits of reservation under the SC category have been cornered by the Mala community, with the Madigas being left out.
The Madiga community had been struggling since 1994 for the sub-categorisation, and the Prime Minister’s announcement was considered an important step in that direction.
BJP sources had told The Hindu that the party was completely in favour of the move as it would help consolidate the support of the “three Ms”, that is the Madiga, Mudiraju and Munnur Kapu communities, in the run-up to the 2024 Lok Sabha poll if not the Assembly election.
