Tribal body demands 17% reservation for STs

​Khammam: The Lambadi Hakkula Porata Samiti (LHPS) alleged that the state government has deceived the people of Schedule Tribes by making a false promise of providing 17 per cent reservations to them.

Speaking at a meeting held with the representatives of the Samithi at Banjara Bhavan in Khammam on Thursday, Samithi’s state general secretary Bukya Bikshapathi alleged that the TRS government had forgot all the promises it made to the people of Telangana before going for Assembly elections, and was deceiving people with its mesmerising words.

He criticised that the TRS party made the promise of providing 17 per cent reservations to STs. However, it was now trying to deceive the ST’s by including various other castes in the ST group.

Stating that the government till date did not distribute even one acre of land to STs though it had promised to distribute three acres of land to every ST family, he accused the government of trying to grab Podu lands of tribals, who were cultivating in the lands since many years.

Bikshapathi demanded the government to fulfill all its poll promises it made before going to elections apart from allotting 17 per cent reservations to ST’s without including other castes. He threatened to launch an agitation if government remained mum on their demands.

He further urged the people belonging to Schedule Tribes, students, intellectuals and representatives of various people organisations to participate in the large numbers in the 20th anniversary of LHPS, to be held on July 1 at TNGO Functional Hall in Khammam and make it a grand success.

State secretary of the LHPS K Ravichandra Chouhan, district president Daravath Dasharat Naik, student leaders Anil Naik, Saravath Naresh Naik and Bukya Naik were present along with others.