Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy. (File photo: PTI)
Chief Minister Revanth Reddy promised that the state government will take appropriate steps to implement reservation for Madiga and Malayalam castes in the recently issued job notification and, if necessary, will also formulate an ordinance in this regard
Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy on Thursday welcomed the Supreme Court judgment on scheduled caste subdivision and said the government's efforts in this regard have paid off. He promised that the state government would take appropriate steps to implement reservation for Madiga and Malayya castes in the recently issued job notifications and, if necessary, formulate an ordinance in this regard.
A seven-judge Constitution bench of the Supreme Court, headed by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, approved the subdivision of Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe categories to provide reservation in employment and education to the more marginalized people from backward communities.
“The previous BRS government had suspended MP Sampath Kumar from the House for moving an adjournment motion in Parliament regarding SC classification. Deputy Chief Minister Bhatti Vikramarka and Damodara Raja Narasimha sent the Attorney General to the Supreme Court on December 23, 2023, The latter presented arguments in favor of SC classification. Our efforts paid off.
The verdict is significant for Telangana as the state has been actively campaigning against Dalit subdivision since the early 1990s. Manda Krishna Madiga, founder of the Madiga Reserve Pollata Samiti (MRPS), has been spearheading advocacy for equitable reservation for castes.
In its landmark judgment, the Supreme Court overturned the 2004 judgment in EV Chinnaiah v. State of Andhra Pradesh, which held that Scheduled Castes formed a homogeneous group and therefore there could not be any subdivision among them. However, the Supreme Court on Thursday noted that “inequality exists in the Scheduled Castes list”.
Manda Krishna became emotional as she welcomed the verdict. “This is a victory for all those who have been fighting for the rights of the Madiga community for the past 30 years. We have fought tirelessly for three decades, many even giving their lives. Despite all the obstacles we faced, we Still, there is support from all political parties and the wider community.
In November last year, on the eve of the Telangana Assembly elections, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed a meeting organized by the Madiga Reservation Porata Samithi in Hyderabad. The MRPS founder called the Prime Minister his “big brother” and asked him to bring social justice to the Madiga community.
Manda Krishna Madiga also met union home minister Amit Shah to submit a representation in support of the SC classification.
