Uttam Kumar Reddy demands enhancement of reservation for Tribals

Hyderabad: Congress MP N Uttam Kumar Reddy reiterated the demand for an increase in the reservation percentage for Scheduled Tribes in Telangana from 6% to 10%.

He was addressing the All India Banjara Seminar held at Visveshwarayya Bhavan in Khairabad here on Monday as the Chief Guest. The seminar, organised by ex-MLC Ramulu Naik, was attended by leaders of the Banjara community from 15 States. They included MP from Karnataka Umesh Jadhav and former Union Minister Balram Naik.

Uttam Kumar Reddy said that the 10% reservation for the Economically Weaker Section (EWS), introduced by the Centre in 2019, crosses the 50% ceiling on quota imposed by the Supreme Court as per the Indra Sawhney Judgement. However, he said that the courts did not object to the 10% EWS quota. Therefore, he said no legal complications were involved in enhancing the ST quota from the present 6% to 10% as the Constitution permits reservation for STs proportionate to their population.

The Congress MP said that the TRS government was not sincere about increasing ST reservations. "If Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao is serious about enhancing ST quota, then he should go ahead by issuing a GO in this regard," he said while pointing out that former Chief Minister NT Rama Rao had enhanced the ST quota by simply issuing a GO.

Reddy also slammed CM KCR for not releasing funds for Tribal Thandas which were upgraded as Gram Panchayats. He said those Gram Panchayats have no infrastructure to carry out regular activities. There is no building for Gram Panchayat or a structure for Anganwadi. Those panchayats have no revenue or funding from the government. He said most of the Sarpanches in the newly created Gram Panchayats have been operating from their houses.

Speaking about 'Podu' lands, Uttam alleged that the TRS Govt was forcibly taking back the land given by previous Congress regimes under Forest Rights Act. He said lakhs of Tribals have been doing cultivation on 'Podu' lands for several decades. However, TRS Govt is forcibly taking back those lands in the name of Haritha Haram or other reasons. He also condemned the police excesses on Tribals, especially women, to dislodge the Tribals from 'Podu' lands.

He said that the TRS Govt did not fulfil the promise of giving three acres of land to poor ST families. TRS came to power in 2014 on the promise that it would three acres of land to poor SC and ST families. "While CM KCR is completely silent on his promise, his government is using force to take back the lands given to STs by the previous Congress Govt," he alleged.

Similarly, the Congress MP said that the TRS Govt did not provide double-bedroom houses to poor ST families. "As the then Housing Minister in Congress Govt, I've built lakhs of houses for Tribals. But the present TRS Govt is not willing to address the housing problem being faced by lakhs of STs across Telangana State," he said.

Stating that he has been fighting for the rights of Tribals, Uttam Kumar Reddy assured that he would continue to fight for the rights of all Tribals in Telangana, both inside and outside the Parliament. He said he would raise the issue of an increase in ST quota in the forthcoming session of Parliament commencing from July 18.