- By Vivek Raj
- Fri, 02 Aug 2024 09:40 AM (IST)
- Source:JND
Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy announced on Thursday that the state government may promulgate an ordinance if necessary to implement reservations for sub-castes within the Scheduled Castes (SC) category. This follows a major Supreme Court verdict supporting the classification of SCs into sub-groups.
The Supreme Court, led by Chief Justice Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud, upheld the classification of SCs into sub-groups for reservations in education and employment. In response, Revanth Reddy confirmed that the Telangana government will take appropriate measures to implement these reservations in recent job notifications. The government is considering categorising SCs into four sub-groups—A, B, C, and D.
“The government will also take appropriate measures to implement the reservations for Madiga and Mala sub-castes in the job notifications issued recently. If necessary, we shall promulgate an ordinance in this direction,” Revanth Reddy said.
Reddy criticised the previous Bharata Rashtra Samithi (BRS) government for not representing the SC categorisation case effectively in the Supreme Court. He mentioned that when former MLA Sampath Kumar attempted to address the issue in the state assembly, he was suspended.
BRS working president KT Rama Rao praised the apex court’s decision and highlighted that the BRS had previously supported SC categorisation. He urged the Congress government to implement the categorisation as directed by the Supreme Court, offering the BRS’s support.
“While other political parties took a dual stand on the categorisation issue, only KCR had viewed the issue in the angle of social justice. He was of the view that the demand for SC categorisation was as genuine as the demand for a separate Telangana state,” he said.
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So far, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has chosen not to comment on the Supreme Court's decision, with Telangana BJP president G Kishan Reddy advising party leaders to refrain from statements until the central leadership provides an official stance.
Andhra Pradesh IT Minister Nara Lokesh and TDP general secretary welcomed the verdict and reminded that the TDP government had issued an ordinance in 1999 categorising SCs into sub-groups, which facilitated job opportunities for Madigas.
“We are committed to implementing the SC reservations again, as per the Supreme Court verdict. Our agenda is to ensure political and economic empowerment of all sections of society,” he said.
