26 north Andhra communities seek inclusion in Telangana BC list

Community leaders urge Chief Ministers to discuss BC status for 26 castes in Telangana during upcoming meeting in Hyderabad.

Representatives of various communities on Wednesday urged Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu to discuss the issue of 26 castes of north Andhra region, which did not get the backward class status in Telangana, with his counterpart Revanth Reddy on July 6 in Hyderabad. Both the leaders will hold a meeting to discuss various subjects and issues pending between the two States.

Andhra Pradesh Backward Classes Association (APBCA) leader and Pulsus Group CEO Gedela Srinubabu said that the communities such as Turpu Kapu, Kalinga, Koppula Velama, Kalinga Komati, Telaga and others were removed from BC category in Telangana after the bifurcation of united Andhra Pradesh in 2014. In a press release, he said that he had submitted a memorandum to the A.P. Chief Minister regarding the issues of BCs and the injustice meted out to them in Telangana.

“People belonging to certain castes of north Andhra region settled down many decades ago in Hyderabad and other places. Their children are unable to get jobs and seats in reputed educational institutions due to the denial of reservation,” he said. He said that the denial of BC reservation in Telangana led to the denial of OBC status on the national-level, which further led to the denial of reservation in medical colleges and IITs, for which seats were being filled up through the NEET, JEE Mains and advanced examinations respectively.

Dr. B.R. Ambedkar University former Vice-Chancellor and North Andhra Development Advisory Forum president Hanumanthu Lajapathirai said that the issue of reservations needed to be discussed during the Chief Ministers’ meet, as over 10 lakh families of Srikakulam, Vizianagaram and other areas settled down in the Telangana region. He said that Mr. Revanth Reddy had assured to look into the issue of reservation for North Andhra people during his election campaign.

“In this competitive era, reservation is needed to get jobs and seats in top educational institutions. The students of north Andhra have become immediate victims with the bifurcation of A.P.. At least now, the issue needs to be taken up on a top priority basis during the Chief Ministers’ meeting,” said Mr. Lajapathirai.

A.P. Kalinga Komati Sangham Association’s State president and Telugu Desam Party (TDP) senior leader Boina Govindarajulu, Jana Sena Party (JSP) Srikakulam district president and BC association leader Pisini Chandramohan has urged the State government to take up the reservation issue and put a halt to the injustice forced upon the North Andhra BC families who settled in Telangana.