Sonia, Priyanka cast vote in Delhi polls
Congress Parliamentary Party (CPP) Chairperson Sonia Gandhi and party's General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Wednesday exercised their franchise for Delhi Assembly polls.
Objections have been raised against the Scheduled Caste categorization announced by the Telangana Congress government as Manda Krishna Madiga, who spearheaded the movement, has opposed it.
Representative Image
Objections have been raised against the Scheduled Caste categorization announced by the Telangana Congress government as Manda Krishna Madiga, who spearheaded the movement, has opposed it.
He alleged that the forward castes within the SCs have been recognized among the most backward ones under the categorization approved by the state government. He said Madigas should have received 11 percent reservation but they were given only 9 percent.
Advertisement
Meanwhile, the Congress, which also faced rebellion within the party over backward classes reservation served a show-cause notice to its MLC Teenmar Mallanna after he alleged that the caste census was a conspiracy to suppress BCs further.
Advertisement
Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy is scheduled to meet party MLAs and key functionaries tomorrow to gear up for the upcoming local body polls now that the SC categorization and enhanced reservation for BCs have been sorted.
Manda Krishna Madiga, who heads the Madiga Reservation Porata Samithi, said, “The categorization ignored the backwardness of the Madigas along with the numbers. Instead, the castes were categorized according to political considerations. The castes that are most forward have been included in Group A, meant for the most backward castes among SCs.”
He said this was done to benefit the Mala community, which wields political power. He blamed state health minister Damodar Rajanarsimha, a Madiga himself, for failing to guard the interest of the Madigas.
It was Manda Krishna Madiga who had held a public rally with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, paving the way for SC categorization. The judicial commission set up by the state government recommended that the 59 sub castes among the SCs in Telangana be divided into three groups. Madigas have been placed in the second group with 9 percent reservation.
The Congress disciplinary committee issued a show cause notice to party MLC Teenmar Mallana for criticising the state caste census report. He had alleged that the data was manipulated to bring down the reservation of BCs. He had also burnt a copy of the caste survey statement in the Assembly.
Mallana, however, continued his tirade against the caste census even after receiving the show cause notice.
Advertisement