HYDERABAD: With Assembly polls round the corner, the ruling TRS has begun taking steps to win over Andhra voters who constitute significant numbers in the Assembly constituencies that fall under the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) limits. Proving this, the ruling party members have requested authorities concerned to re-include 26 castes -- such as Koppulavelama, Kalinga, Toorpu Kapu, Gavara, Setti Balija and others -- in the list of Backward Classes. Interestingly, they were earlier deleted from the list by the TRS government as they did not originally exist in Telangana.
TRS MLAs- Maganti Gopinath, Arikepudi Gandhi Madhavaram Krishna Rao and KP Vivekananda -- all of whom had crossed over to the ruling party from the TDP in the GHMC area -- submitted a memorandum to the TS BC Commission chairman BS Ramulu on Saturday, urging him to recommend to the government to reincorporate the 26 castes in the list of BCs.
“People belonging to these castes have migrated from various districts of North Andhra to Hyderabad city and its surrounding areas in the past 30 years. They are now working as daily wage labourers in construction sector, unskilled workers in Telugu film industry and other sectors. They are very poor and they availed reservation facility in the erstwhile undivided State since 23 September 1970 on the basis of recommendation of Anantharaman commission,” the TRS MLAs stated in their memorandum.
Recalling that the State government had removed these 26 castes from the BCs list, the MLAs requested the BC Commission chairman to take steps to re-include them. During the meeting, the BC Commission chairman is learnt to have promised to the MLAs that the government would consider their proposal. “In an unusual manner, four MLAs today petitioned for the inclusion of these 26 communities in BCs list. We will definitely take a look at it,” he is learnt to have told the MLAs.
Legislator Gopinath told Express that Ramulu had responded positively, and a positive decision was likely to be taken soon. It is estimated that about 15 lakh people belonging to these communities reside in Hyderabad. Hence, the TRS MLAs belonging to the city are of the view that a positive decision will be helpful in improving their electoral fortunes. In fact, the TS government issued an order on 11 March 2015, delisting these 26 castes from the BC reservations list claiming there was no point in continuing as these castes belong to various regions which are not part of the new state.