At a time when everybody thought the demand for providing reservations to the Kapu community in the Other Backward Classes (OBC) quota in Andhra Pradesh is a closed chapter, the Central government suddenly pushed the ball into the Jagan government’s court.
In reply to a question posed by Bharatiya Janata Party member G V L Narasimha Rao in Rajya Sabha on Wednesday, Union minister for social justice Pratima Bhoumik clarified that it is for the states to decide on the reservations to the OBCs, depending on the local requirements.
She said the Centre had no role in deciding the OBC reservations and the state had all the powers to decide on the reservations.
Reacting to a specific query on Kapu reservations in Andhra Pradesh, the Union minister said it was for the state to decide on excluding or including any caste in the OBC quota.
The Centre’s categorical clarification will bring pressure on the Jagan government, as the BJP and the Jana Sena might start demanding inclusion of Kapus under the BC quota again.
The demand for five per cent quota for Kapus has been pending for a long time and during the Chandrababu Naidu regime, it became a big issue, leading to a law and problem, following the Tuni meeting.
The Naidu government adopted a resolution in the state assembly and sent to the Centre for approval but it was rejected.
Later, Naidu provided five per cent quota for Kapus under EBC category, but it landed in legal dispute. As a result, the issue remained unresolved. After Jagan came to power, he withdrew the EBC quota for Kapus and ruled out any reservations for them.
Now with the Centre issuing a clarification, it remains to be seen whether the demand will surface again.