Hyderabad, February 7: All India Congress Committee (AICC) General Secretary Sampath Kumar has provided a detailed explanation of the Scheduled Castes (SC) reservation classification, stating that allocations are based strictly on population percentages to ensure fairness.
Speaking at a press conference at Gandhi Bhavan on Friday, he explained that the Congress government had earlier established the Usha Meher Committee to examine caste classification. However, the Telangana movement had interrupted its work. Following state formation, both the central BJP and state BRS governments allegedly delayed the classification process. Upon returning to power, the Congress government presented strong arguments in the Supreme Court, leading to the formation of the Ekasabh Commission. Based on its report, SCs were reclassified into three groups.
Sampath Kumar stated that after the bifurcation from Andhra Pradesh, some castes were absent in Telangana, necessitating the new classification. Group 1 was given 1% reservation, Group 2 received 9%, and Group 3 was assigned 5%. Group 1 includes 15 castes, Group 2 has 18 castes, and Group 3 consists of 26 castes, covering 33.96% of Telangana’s SC population. He clarified that these percentages apply to all castes within each group, not just specific communities.
The reclassification aimed to consolidate the previous ABCD system into three broader groups, ensuring a fairer distribution of reservations while aligning similar cultural communities.
