Amid the increasing confrontation between Andhra Pradesh government and the Kapus demanding backward classes status, a powerful community leader Mudragada Padmanabham will be launching an indefinite fast from Friday .
Padmanabham, who has been named by the police as accused Number 1 in the cases booked for violence of last Sunday at Tuni, will be sitting on the indefinite fast at his native place Kirlampudi in East Godavari district. His wife Padmavati will also join him in the fast in a room of their house.
“Unless the Government issued the orders including Kapus in the BCs list and allocate Rs 2,000 crore for the Kapus Welfrare Corporation, there will not be any change in my program of launching indefinite fast from Friday”, he said.
Padmanabham’s announcement came with in a week of large scale violence after the “Kapus Unity Rally” at Tuni in which a train, a police station and 25 vehicle were set ablaze and 19 people were injured.
Padmanabham reacted strongly to booking of cases against 300 people, including 27 prominent Kapu leaders belonging to Congress, YSR Congress and the BJP who had gathered at Kapu rally on Sunday.
“Instead of fulfilling the promises made to Kapus, Telugu Desam government was harassing Kapus”, Padmanabahm said. He announced that if he and other Kapu leaders were arrested they will remain in jail and will not seek bail. He denied that he had provoked the violence.
The police has strengthened the security in East Godavari district in view of the indefinite fast. Superintendent of Police Ravi Prakash warned the people of other parts of the district and the state from coming to Kirlampudi for Padmanabahm’s protest program. “35 checkpoints are in place to stop large number of people from gathering at Kirlampudi in view of last Sunday’s incidents”, he said.
For Padmanabham, who served as a Minister in both Congress and TDP Governments in the past, resorting to indefinite fasts was not a new thing. He has gone on such programs many times on various demands related to the Kapu community.
Kapus are a numerically powerful caste in coastal Andhra and have been fighting for BC status for decades on the basis of their economically weaker status.
In a bid to assuage the feelings of Kapus, the Naidu Government has set up a six member cabinet sub committee to look into the demand and set up a Backward Classes commission. Naidu after discussing the matter in the cabinet said that mere issuing a GO including the Kapus in BC list will not solve the problem as it will be struck down by the court. He said that the Kapus can be included in the list only through the recommendation of a commission.
On the other demand Naidu said that the government will allocate Rs 1000 crore to the Kapu welfare corporation from this year. But the Government’s move to extend BC status to the Kapus was facing a lot of resistance from the other backward communities. Backward Class Welfare Association President and a TDP MlA R Krishnaiah has warned Naidu Government against any such step. The OBCS held protest demonstrations all over the State on Thursday warning they will further intensify their agitation if Kapus were included in the BCs list.