Caste politics in state Congress to the fore as internal feud heats up

The Congress government in Telangana successfully conducted a caste survey and revealed the percentage of various castes following the slogan given by the Leader of the Opposition (LoP), Rahul Gandhi.

'Jitni Abadi, Utna Haq' (rights in proportion to population) is a political call given by Rahul Gandhi for a nationwide caste census and the distribution of resources, welfare, and representation matching the exact share of each community's population.

However, Rahul Gandhi's slogan appears to be having a different impact in Telangana.

In fact, last year, former Telangana Mahila Congress chief M Sunitha Rao Mudiraj staged a dharna at Gandhi Bhavan, alleging that the Telangana Congress leadership was allocating positions only to leaders of two castes—Reddy and Goud.

This year, however, the issue of caste has once again made an impact in the Telangana Congress, as members of the two BC communities, Yadavs and Gouds, resorted to attacks on Youth Congress Telangana president Jakkidi Shivcharan Reddy’s residence over his alleged comments in viral video clips against those castes in connection with the 'flexi issue' involving Yadagirigutta Devasthanam Trust Board member Pochaboina Eshwaramma Yadav. However, this issue is now almost over.

However, the Arvapalli dispute between pro and anti-groups over the appointment of Congress mandal presidents in the Thungathurthi Assembly constituency has now taken a caste angle. Though TPCC working president T Jagga Reddy is looking into the issue, the dispute became a fight between Thungathurthi MLA Mandula Samuel and the Komatireddy brothers.

Later, it took the shape of a conflict between Reddys and SCs. Samuel alleged that Reddys voted for him, while SCs voted for Komatireddy Rajgopal Reddy, who had tendered an apology to the people of Thungathurthi for securing the party ticket for Mandula Samuel in the Munugode constituency. Rajgopal Reddy also stated that he had worked for the victory of Mandula Samuel.

SC MLAs, MLCs and MPs convener Dr Kavvampally Sathyanarayana, on Saturday, after a meeting at Praja Bhavan in the presence of Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka and his MP brother and TPCC Disciplinary Action Committee Chairman Mallu Ravi, alleged that the discrimination is not limited to the Thungathurthi constituency but extends to all SC Assembly constituencies.

One of the party leaders, speaking on condition of anonymity, commented, "I don't know where these issues will end. The TPCC Disciplinary Action Committee should act firmly; otherwise, things will go beyond limits."

Another leader opined that some vested interests are working behind the scenes to take revenge, following the principle that "an enemy's enemy is a friend", and hence these issues are taking serious turns very quickly.

"We have to wait and see what turn these developments will take and what will happen in the Telangana Congress in the future," the leader commented.