BC reservation drama exposed: YSRCP

Tadepalli, Oct 1: Former Minister Ushasri Charan and YSRCP spokesperson and former MP Gorantla Madhav said the High Court verdict on BC reservations had exposed Chandrababu Naidu’s political game ahead of the local-body elections.

Speaking at the YSRCP Central Office, they said the government issued orders providing 34 per cent BC reservation despite knowing the legal hurdles and then projected itself as a champion of BC rights. They said that if Chandrababu was genuinely committed to enhanced BC reservations, the NDA governments at the State and Centre should pursue a legally sustainable route through Parliament.

The leaders said Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy had given BCs greater political representation, welfare support and economic opportunities, including 50 per cent representation in nominated posts and works, representation from local bodies to Parliament, BC corporations and substantial DBT and non-DBT welfare assistance. They said YSRCP had also pushed for parliamentary measures on BC reservations and a separate institutional framework for BC welfare.

Ushasri Charan questioned the status of the coalition’s promise of pensions for BCs above 50 years and said benefits for weavers, fee reimbursement and support to drought-hit communities had been curtailed. Gorantla Madhav said cases and arrests involving BC leaders showed the government’s contradictory approach towards the community.

They said BCs were being treated merely as an electoral vote bank while several welfare commitments remained unfulfilled. The leaders said YSRCP would continue its campaign for legally sustainable BC reservations and wider political, social and economic representation, and said these issues would be taken directly to voters in the coming local-body elections.