G Kishan Reddy, the State BJP president and Union Minister, addressed the media on Monday and stated that the party is committed to ABCD categorisation in SC reservations. They have already started working on it.
Reddy mentioned that SC categorisation has been pending for the last 75 years. The Centre has conducted extensive research before PM Narendra Modi announced it during his speech at the Madiga Vishwaroopa Maha Sabha at Parade grounds recently. A committee was formed to expedite the process and monitor cases before a seven-judge SC bench. Their goal is not to decide whether to go for categorisation or not.
Reddy informed that Manda Krishna, the president of Madiga Reservation Porata Samithi (MRPS), met with the PM on July 8 during his visit to Warangal and explained the issue. Following Modi’s assurance, party president JP Nadda and Home Minister Amit Shah held a meeting with party leaders, MRPS leaders, intellectuals, and others in New Delhi on October 2 to discuss the issue.
There were contradictory judgments by two benches, with one supporting categorisation and the other rejecting it. The bench that favored categorisation suggested referring the issue to a seven-judge bench. The Solicitor-General requested the Chief Justice to constitute the bench, which was done on October 10. All stakeholders were issued notices to submit their written submissions before December 14. Reddy emphasized that this shows the party’s commitment to categorisation in SC reservations.
Reddy highlighted that only PM Modi has addressed this long-pending issue seriously. Previous governments, including Congress and BRS, have only given lip service without taking any action. Modi spoke as a social activist during the meeting, addressing several other important issues as well.
The party’s intention in forming committees was to speed up the process and monitor progress on a daily basis, not to decide whether to go for categorisation or not. Reddy recalled that the first committee was formed by former PM Lal Bahadur Shastri.
