Committed to SC sub-categorisation, PM assures Madigas

Hyderabad: Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Saturday that the BJP is committed to sub-categorisation of Scheduled Castes (SCs) for reservation.

Addressing a huge rally of Madiga Reservation Porata Samithi (MRPS) at the Parade Grounds in Hyderabad, he assured Madigas that the BJP is committed to end injustice to them as early as possible.

He announced that a committee will be constituted which will explore all options for their empowerment.

Stating that the struggle of Madigas is just, Modi said the government would extend all support to them in the ongoing legal battle in the Supreme Court.

Claiming that BJP alone can guarantee social justice and take Telangana forward on the path of development, he appealed to people to ensure a double-engine government by bringing BJP to power after the November 30 elections.

Modi was all praise for MRPS leader Manda Krishna Madiga for his long struggle for the rights of Madigas and repeatedly addressed him as his younger brother.

“From today, Krishna is my leader. I am his assistant. I will stand by you in this fight,” he said.

Krishna turned emotional on sharing the dais with the Prime Minister, who hugged the MRPS leader and consoled him.

Madigas is numerically the biggest community among SCs in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. In Telangana, Madigas make up 60 percent of SCs, who constitute about 17 percent of the population.

Krishna urged Madigas to reject both Congress and Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), saying Narendra Modi alone can do justice to them.

MRPS has been fighting for three decades for internal reservations within the SCs to ensure that the benefits of reservation reach all the sub-castes. It maintains that only a few sub-castes were cornering benefits.

The rally was held less than three weeks before the Assembly elections in Telangana. BJP hopes to get the support of Madigas.

The meeting was held two days after Modi addressed the Backward Classes self-respect rally in Hyderabad.

Addressing the meeting, he promised that if voted to power in Telangana, BJP will make a leader from backward classes the Chief Minister.