Call for reservations to BCs based on population ratio and BC census

VIJAYAWADA: The BC Atmagourava Sabha held in Guntur on Sunday has demanded that governments ensure social justice and political empowerment to the backward communities (BCs) by granting them proportional representation based on the population ratio.

A bronze statue of social activist BP Mandal was unveiled at the Chillis Centre in Guntur on Sunday, at a meeting attended by BC leaders from various parties in AP along with some national leaders including BP Mandal’s grandson Suraj Mandal.

Dravida Kazhagam party president K Veeramani, VCK party president and MP Thol Thirumavalan, retired judge Justice Eswaraiah, AP state ministers Chelloboina Venugopalakrishna, Jogi Ramesh, Karumuri Nageswara Rao and Vidadala Rajani, Beeda Mastan Rao MP, MLCs Janga Krishnamurthy, Lella Appireddy, Dokka and Manikya Varaprasad, former minister Kollu Ravindra and former MLA Shravan Kumar from the Telugu Desam, former minister Raghuveera Reddy from the Congress, former MLA Mastan Vali, Jana Sena leaders Bonaboina Srinivas Yadav and Potina Venkata Mahesh addressed the gathering.

Suraj Mandal expressed his concern that BCs are not getting due encouragement from the governments despite the large size of their population. The BCs should be counted in the government enumeration programmes and reservations for BCs should be implemented in the private sector as well, he pleaded.

DKP president Veeramani said the 27 per cent reservation enjoyed by BCs currently was made possible by the BP Mandal recommendations to the central government. He said many forces prevented the passage of the recommendations of the Mandal Commission in Parliament.

He demanded that BCs should get 52 per cent reservation based on a matching strength of their population. “In reality, BCs are getting only 10 per cent reservations even though what was on offer was 27 per cent.”

VCK party president Thirumavalan said the country needs the unity of SCs, STs and BCs to promote the cause of social justice. “If the parties with the Brahmin ideology come to power in the country in 2024, there will be no more reservations,” he said and called for the installation of the Mandal statues in all districts across the country.

Minister Vidadala Rajani said that there was a significant change in AP after the Jagan Reddy government took charge of the state in 2019. “BCs got recognition and are given priority in the party and the government, unlike in the past.”

Minister Venugopalakrishna quoted BP Mandal as saying, “There should be mention of castes during the votes but there should be no casteism in government decisions. He said BCs are not backward castes but “backbone classes of the society and government.”

CPI state secretary K Ramakrishna asked why the government was afraid of conducting a BC population census. Reservations should be made for BCs in the private sector as well,” he proposed.