Naidu calls Jagan ‘traitor of BCs’, says TDP will move SC against HC order
VIJAYAWADA: Describing Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy as a “traitor’ of Backward Classes, Leader of the Opposition and TDP supremo N Chandrababu Naidu has alleged that the government did grave injustice to the BCs by depriving them of the reservation they were enjoying for the last three decades.
Addressing a press conference at the TDP office at Atmakur near here on Tuesday, Naidu asked why the YSRC government was not filing a Special Leave Petition in the Supreme Court, like the Kiran Kumar Reddy government did to get 33 per cent quota for BCs in the 2013 elections.
Taking exception to the government’s decision to go ahead with the conduct of local body elections without providing 34 per cent reservation to BCs, he said the TDP along with the BC associations will move the Supreme Court.
Taking a jibe at the Chief Minister’s remarks that it was important to conduct the polls by March-end so as to get funding assistance from the Centre for the local bodies, Naidu sought to know what the government was doing in the last nine months.
“The TDP first provided 27 per cent reservation to BCs in 1987 and later increased it to 34 per cent in 1994. Though there was a petition filed in the High Court opposing the 34 per cent reservation to BCs, the then Kiran Kumar Reddy’s government approached the Supreme Court and got a favourable verdict in continuing 34 per cent reservation to BCs,’’ he said and pointed out that the BCs will get only 24 per cent reservation, which is less than 27 per cent which they got 33 years ago.
“This (the High Court verdict) is the failure of the Chief Minister and the government advocates,” he said and asked as to why the CM, who left for Delhi lobbying with the Prime Minister and Home Minister for abolition of the AP Legislative Council, did not seek their cooperation for continuation of BC reservation.
Stating that Jagan would go down in history forever as a betrayer of BCs if his government does not appeal against the High Court order, he alleged that the YSRC government first gave an order fixing 59.85 per cent quota and later deployed its activists to file cases in the High Court against the same.
Jagan was undoubtedly taking an act of revenge on BCs as they have been supporting the TDP, he alleged. “For 25 years, the BCs enjoyed 34 per cent reservation, but now this is being denied by the YSRC government,” he claimed.
He asked the Chief Minister why he did not hold talks with BC associations and the Opposition parties before deciding to conduct local body polls.