Till last month, only the Kapu community in Andhra Pradesh was livid with Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu for not including them in the Backward Classes (BC) category.
After announcing 5% reservation for them in government jobs and educational institutions, Naidu has been facing rough weather from all sides. BC organisations have launched protests statewide as they are opposed to the idea of an upper caste giving them company. The chairman of the state BC Commission, Justice Manjunatha, who was asked to submit a report on reservations to Kapus, is upset that the report was not validated before it was submitted to the government by the rest of the members.
Even those who agitated for reservation for the Kapus seem unhappy as they feel 5% is less and unjustified. Now, the biggest challenge for the ruling TDP is to get the blessings of the Centre in approving the quota bill, which wont be easy in the backdrop of the NDA government not entertaining a similar demand from the Patidars in Gujarat and other communities from the rest of the country.
The draft of the Kapu reservation bill of 2017 was passed by the Andhra Pradesh legislature and sent to Governor E.S.L. Narasimhan and for the assent of the President. According to the draft, four sub-castes—Telaga, Kapu, Ontari and Balija—have been included in a newly created 'Group F' in the BC category.
In Andhra Pradesh, the demographic weightage of the Kapus is heavy as they make up almost 10% of the total population. The Joint Action Committee (JAC), under popular Kapu leader and former MP Mudragada Padmanabham, had intensified protests on the streets since the last few years. Confrontation with the state machinery followed by crackdowns led to the arrests of the movement leaders. However, all this was a thing of the past as the state drew closer to elections. The TDP finally decided to recognise the community as backward after seeking a report from the Manjunatha Committee.
The Kapu leaders have softened their stand and their unabashed criticism of the TDP has stopped. Is this a sign that the Kapus will rally behind the TDP in the 2019 General Elections?
“Absolutely not,” said an active community member who organised a number of protests in the past. “We do not see it as a privilege but as our right. Kapus were officially recognised as a backward community in the 1950s but were stripped off the status in the later years. Our community felt the impact and now we are glad that a step has been taken toward including us once again in the BC category. But we are not very happy with just 5% reservation as we want a better deal as per the census. You will very soon see us spilling on to the streets if our demand is not met. Also, we are not naive that we will vote for the TDP just because they accepted one of our demands.”
Even Mudragada made a statement immediately after the government announcement that they expect a 10% reservation.
Elsewhere, dissent is brewing for another reason.
The leaders of a number of backward castes have taken a strong objection to the TDP's decision.
TDP MLA R. Krishnaiah, who is a strong BC leader in AP and Telangana, has turned against his party, strongly objecting to the inclusion of Kapus in the BC list. He raises a technical point to support his stand.
“A Supreme Court order has said that the total reservations for scheduled castes, scheduled tribes and BC in a state cannot cross 50%. AP state has already touched that limit, so how can they add more 5% to the existing reservation?” asked Krishnaiah. “More than that, we feel that injustice is being meted out to us. How can Kapus, who are a dominant force, be called backward? They are doing well in all the fields including education and jobs. They will soon get reservation in the political system too, keeping in mind the past precedents. This will impact us a lot.”
He is also concerned that a few more forward castes, including the Brahmins and the Vyshyas, will very soon put pressure on the government to include them in the BC category.
Krishnaiah, who will take a decision regarding resigning from his party, said that they are gearing up for a long and intense battle, including taking a judicial route, to take on the AP government.
The Mudragada camp, who are aware of the SC order, has filed a caveat in the court to thwart any move of the opposing side.
According to them, there is another Supreme Court order that favours them. The state government too has cited this order in the bill.
“There were amendments to Articles 15 and 16 of the Constitution by 81st Amendment Act, 2000, and 93rd Amendment Act, 2005, respectively, and the same were challenged. The Supreme Court of India by its judgements in M. Nagaraj & others vs. Union of India and others and Ashok Kumar Thakur vs. Union of India laid down the law that if a state wants to exceed 50% of reservation, then it is required to base its decision on the quantifiable data,” read the contents of the bill signed by K. Atchannaidu, state minister for BC welfare.
Not everyone seem to be convinced by the demand including Justice Manjunatha of the BC Commission who was asked by AP to submit a report on the need for reservations to Kapus. “I have done my duty and I cannot disclose what recommendations I have submitted,” said Manjunatha.
It was widely speculated that since he was not in favour of reservation, he was sidelined in the entire process. An upset Manjunatha had told the media that the report was submitted to the AP government by one of the members without the validation of the commission.
“My recommendations are with the member secretary, so I am not sure if they have been submitted to the government,” he said, declining to further comment on the issue.
How the TDP handles the outcome of the issue smoothly to gain politically remains to be seen in the coming days.
