BC-A Samithi Opposes Mudhiraj Shift, Urges Bandi Sanjay to Retract Remarks

A organisation representing backward class communities has publicly opposed the proposal to move the Mudhiraj community from the BC-D group to the BC-A group, and has asked Union Minister of State for Home Bandi Sanjay Kumar to withdraw his backing for the change.

The BC-A Kulala Hakkula Parirakshana Samithi put forward its position at a press conference on Sunday. Its founder president, retired professor M. Bagaiah, described the Minister's remarks on reclassifying the community as biased and unjustified. He pointed out that the BC-A group comprises 57 castes, most of which remain far behind the Mudhiraj community, which he said is numerically large and considerably better placed than the groups already in BC-A.

Samithi president Gadapa Srihari and spokesperson Kante Ramchander disputed the Minister's claim that the Supreme Court had also suggested the community's inclusion in BC-A. They said no basis existed for that assertion.

The organisation argued that any decision to place a community or caste in the BC-A group must rest on a scientific assessment of population along with indicators such as education, financial position and social status. It appealed to the government to compare the economic, educational and political representation of a community before granting it BC-A status.

The Samithi also said the Minister carries a constitutional obligation to address the grievances of all communities, and should not advance the cause of one group at the expense of others. It warned that any move to bring additional communities into BC-A would encounter stiff resistance.