Lok Satta against panel on BC quota for Kapus, others

Hyderabad, Dec 20 (UNI) Lok Satta Party President Jayaprakash Narayan today opposed the Andhra Pradesh Government's decision to constitute a commission to go into the inclusion of Kapus and 17 other castes in the Backward Caste list.

Addressing a press conference here, Dr Narayan alleged the decision was meant to drive a wedge between Kapus and other BCs to derive short term political gains.

There was indeed backwardness and deprivation among Kapus and for long for which they had been demanding inclusion in the BC list.

''But the timing and the manner of the decision makes it amply clear the government is motivated not by a genuine desire to help those suffering from deprivation and discrimination.'' Dr Narayan said the decision would merely spark another 'Kulala Kuruksetra' (caste war of epic proportion).

Several disadvantaged communities had genuine grievances about their non-inclusion in reservation or wrong classification of BCs, SCs or STs.

He demanded all such communities be carefully considered and included among categories eligible for reservation only after a scientific, independent, objective and credible analysis of their economic, social, cultural and anthropological background.

The Lok Satta believed that justice could be rendered by awarding ten per cent weightage in marks to children from poor families with rural background, irrespective of their community, in both admission to educational institutions and government jobs.

He also called for the establishment of schools and hostels and provision of scholarships to children of economically backward people.

The government should provide free of cost quality education in English medium upto Standard XII to all children and higher education to all deserving and desirous students irrespctive of their means.

UNI