KAKINADA: Kapu patriarch Mudragada Padmanabham wrote a letter to Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy on Tuesday, urging the latter to give reservation to the Kapu community.
Padmanabham said that during the tenure of the former TDP government, the Kapu and other alliance communities were notified as a backward class (BC) and were supposed to get reservations. However, the Centre did not give its approval to it.
“Several parties promised they would give reservation to the Kapus. However, no one kept their word. The State government should focus on giving reservation to our community as even Dr BR Ambedkar and Neelam Sanjeevaiah believed it was right.”
Recounting his struggles for getting reservations for his community, the former MP said that during TDP’s tenure, students, youths and even women were lathi-charged and sent to jail.
“I participated in the ‘Odaarpu Yatra’ for 22 days at my own expense. Despite threats from the then Congress party president Sonia Gandhi, I refused to stand my ground. Reservation is our community’s right.”