Hyderabad: Telangana Chief Minister, A. Revanth Reddy, has expressed his approval of the Supreme Court’s recent ruling, allowing state governments to sub-classify Scheduled Castes (SC) for quotas. Declaring Telangana’s commitment to this progressive move, he stated that the state would be the first to implement it.
Speaking in the Assembly, CM Reddy praised the Supreme Court’s Constitutional Bench for their historic decision. “I heartily welcome the order of the Supreme Court. I thank the Constitutional Bench for the historic judgment,” he proclaimed. Notably, six out of the seven judges endorsed the right of states to opt for SC categorization.
CM Reddy highlighted the vigorous advocacy by the Telangana government that led to the favorable verdict for the Madigas and other sub-castes, who have long struggled for recognition and categorization. “Telangana will be the first state to implement SC categorization. We take this responsibility of implementing it,” he affirmed, emphasizing the state’s pioneering role.
To expedite the implementation, CM Reddy mentioned the possibility of issuing an Ordinance to align job notifications with the Supreme Court’s directive. He acknowledged the prolonged fight of countless youth from the Madiga community and other sub-castes for SC categorization into ABCD sub-categories. “For 27 years they fought in united Andhra Pradesh and Telangana,” he recounted, recalling his own suspension from the Assembly along with then-Congress MLA SA Sampath Kumar for pushing the debate on this issue.
CM Reddy criticized the previous Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) government for failing to fulfill its promise of leading an all-party delegation to Delhi to meet the Prime Minister regarding SC categorization. “This is a historic day. It was a long-cherished dream. I have become a bit emotional today,” he admitted, stressing that the categorization aims to address existing imbalances, not to oppose any section.
Support for the Supreme Court’s decision came from various quarters. BJP floor leader Maheshwar Reddy hailed the judgment as ‘historic,’ crediting Prime Minister Modi for supporting the 70-year-old struggle for SC categorization. He reminded the Assembly of the PM’s public commitment to this cause in Hyderabad last year.
Additionally, AIMIM floor leader Akbaruddin Owaisi and CPI member K. Sambasiva Rao welcomed the Supreme Court’s ruling, marking it as a significant step towards justice and equity for marginalized communities.
