The Madiga Reservation Porata Samithi (MRPS) in Telangana has formally declared its support for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the Assembly elections scheduled to be held on November 30. The announcement came on Sunday, November 19, a week after Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that the Union government will set up a committee to consider the Madiga community’s demands for internal reservations within the Scheduled Caste (SC) category while sharing the stage with MRPS president Manda Krishna Madiga at a public meeting in Hyderabad.
The MRPS called on its own cadres as well as members of allied Dalit organisations such as the Mahajana Socialist Party (MSP), Madiga Student Federation (MSF), and others to campaign for BJP candidates for the upcoming elections.
For years, the MRPS has been demanding internal reservations within the SC category for Madigas and other SC sub-castes such as Dasari, Sindhollu, Dandasi, and Bindla. Among the Dalit population in the state, Madigas are numerically more powerful than Malas but socially and economically disadvantaged in comparison. Malas are seen as having reaped the benefits of reservation disproportionately among SCs due to various social and political factors.
Read: Will set up committee to consider demands of Madiga reservation: PM Modi in Hyderabad
Since 2013, PM Modi has closely interacted with Manda Krishna Madiga, and in its 2014 manifesto, the BJP promised internal reservations for SCs. However, so far the Modi government has failed to deliver on its promise.
A law allowing for internal reservations was earlier promised by the Congress but the party failed to have it ratified by Parliament when it led the Union government.
Read: Madiga Dandora: A force no political party can ignore or control
Declaring its support for the BJP in Telangana on Sunday, MRPS hit out at Congress and told its cadres, “Don’t forget that the Congress has done immense injustice to us in the matter of SC sub-categorisation. It was the Congress that ruled erstwhile Andhra Pradesh and India for the longest period. The party has long forgotten all the committee reports that were in favour of our demands. It never made efforts towards realising SC sub-categorisation.”
The organisation also reminded that the Congress failed to legislate on SC sub-categorisation in the Parliament when in power and never brought up the issue in the past decade when it has been in the Opposition. “This makes it clear to what extent the Congress has forgotten Madigas,” the circular said.
“BRS too has betrayed us and conspired to hurt our movement. They didn’t provide even nominal Cabinet positions to Madigas and suppressed the community politically,” it said while urging cadres to work hard in campaigning for BJP candidates this time.
Also read: Madiga leader to share stage with Modi in Hyderabad. Why is this significant?
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