 "Kapu, Ratnachal Express")
Even as the Kapu community’s protests, demanding a backward-class status for itself, turned violent in the East Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh on Sunday, the community on Monday declared it was calling off its protest, after Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu assured its demands would be met. Business Standard looks at the developments so far.
Who are the Kapus?
The Kapus are primarily an agrarian community, forming a heterogeneous peasant caste. They are residents of the Andhra-Telangana region and are largely Telugu speakers. Kapu sub-castes include Telaga, Balija, Ontari, Munnuru Kapu, Turpu Kapu, etc.
What are they demanding?
The Kapus have long been demanding that they be brought under the ambit of reservations for backward-class communities. Naidu, after he was elected the chief minister of Andhra Pradesh, had promised to accept their demands and include them under backward classes. To this extent, he had also promised to set up a Kapu development corporation with a corpus of Rs 100 crore, in November 2015.
However, Mudragada Padmanabham, former Telegu Desam Party (TDP) member and the current leader of the Kapu movement, was quoted in a Times of India report as saying: “The government was supposed to release Rs 5,000 crore for development of the Kapus, as promised by Naidu when he took over as CM. But a mere Rs 50 crore was allotted in the last 16 months. The chief minister is taking us for a ride.”
The Kapus also blame Naidu for diverting a majority of the state fund towards the development of Amravati, the proposed new capital of the state, instead of fulfilling the promises he made to the Kapus, a majority of whom are living below the poverty line. The agitators are also dissatisfied with Naidu’s decision to refer the Kapu quota matter to the Manjunatha Commission, which is tasked with submitting a report on how to include the people from the community living below poverty line.
The stir
The Kapu community’s long-standing agitation came to a head on Sunday, at the Ikaya Kapu Garajana meeting organised by the Kapu State Committee in the town of Tuni. The massive rally was organised after Mudragada's decision to lay siege to roads and railway tracks till a GO including Kapus in backward classes was issued.
The agitators pelted the engine of the Ratnachal Express with stones and also attacked police personnel, before ransacking the railway station. Some bogies were also set ablaze. However, no passenger was injured in the incident, as they had alighted from the train before it was set on fire. A total of 15 policemen, including a senior district police officer, were injured in the violence. The protest forced the authorities to stop all trains running between Visakhapatnam and Vijayawada stations, causing a huge inconvenience to passengers. Road traffic on National Highway 16 was also disrupted due to the protests.
Calm before the storm?
Naidu has reviewed the situation with ministers and officials in Vijayawada, and has reiterated his promise to grant Kapus a place under backward-class reservation, stating the setting up of a state-level commission was a definite step for it. Mudragada called off the agitation late on Sunday night but also blamed the Naidu’s government for the situation, saying: “Chandrababu is solely responsible for the present situation, as he has driven the Kapus to streets in frustration by giving them false promises of inclusion in the backward-class category. Let the CM realise the gravity of the situation.”
