Hyderabad: The Telangana Legislative Assembly on Monday passed the Scheduled Caste (SC) Categorization Bill, classifying 59 SC communities into three groups. The bill proposes a 1% reservation for the most backward 15 castes in Group-1, 9% for castes in Group-2, including the Madiga community, and 5% for castes in Group-3, which includes the Mala community.
During the discussion, Chief Minister Revanth Reddy emphasized that the Congress Party has consistently supported Dalits since independence. He highlighted the party’s role in empowering SCs through various opportunities in governance and recalled its recognition of Babu Jagjivan Ram’s leadership by assigning him key ministerial responsibilities at the Centre. He also noted that Damodaram Sanjivayya was appointed as the first SC Chief Minister in the country.
Revanth Reddy acknowledged the long-standing struggle for SC categorization in erstwhile Andhra Pradesh and expressed satisfaction that the issue was being addressed under his leadership. He stated that the government announced its decision in favor of SC categorization within an hour of the Supreme Court’s verdict. He further informed the Assembly that a cabinet sub-committee, led by Minister Uttam Kumar Reddy, was formed to oversee the process, and the commission’s report was approved without modifications.
