Madiga Reservation Porata Samithi demands tabling of SC categorisation bill in Hanamkonda

Hanamkonda: Madiga Reservation Porata Samithi (MRPS)'s national official spokesperson Manda Kumar Madiga has demanded the BJP-led Central government to introduce the Scheduled Castes (SC) categorisation bill in the ongoing session of the Parliament. Speaking to media persons at the Press Club here on Wednesday, he said that it's been 25 years since the movement started for the categorisation of SCs, however, the successive governments at the Centre ignored the demand.

"The then UPA coalition government headed by Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh gave green signal to the categorisation. Senior BJP leaders like LK Advani, M Venkaiah Naidu and party's national president Amit Shah had long back spoke about the need for the categorisation," he said.

He said that recently during the silver jubilee celebration of MRPS at its founding place at Edumudi village under Naguluppalapadu mandal in Prakasam district, Union Minister of State for Home G Kishan Reddy also said that he would try to convince the BJP leadership to ensure the categorisation bill passed.

Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao also promised to send an all-party delegation to Delhi four years ago, but to no avail, Manda Kumar said. Recalling that former Chief Minister YS Rajasekhar Reddy had passed a resolution in the united Andhra Pradesh, Kumar urged present CM YS Jagan Mohan Reddy to exert pressure on the Centre to pass the bill.

He said that the MRPS has decided to stage a protest at Medaram, the abode of Sammakka Saralamma jatara, on July 27 and 28. The national level meeting of the Madiga Students federation (MSF) would be held at Andhra University in Visakhapatnam on August 1, he added.

Likewise, meetings of Madiga Mahila Samakhya (MMS), Madiga Yuvasena and Madiga Employees Samakhya would be held at Hyderabad, Khammam and Vijayawada on August 2, 3 and 4 respectively, he said.

Senior MRPS leaders N Yakaiah, V Veeranna, Putta Ravi, Manda Raju, Bandari Surender, Birru Mahender, Y Somasekhar, D Kanakaiah, G Kishore, G Ravi and S Chiranjeevi were among others present.