The Kapu Aikya Garjana protests carried out by thousands of Kapus at the behest of former MP Mudragada Padmanabham took a violent turn today as angry protestors torched the Ratnachal Express which was stationed at Tuni railway station.
The protests were so intense that AP CM Nara Chandrababu Naidu has called for an emergency meeting to bring the situation under control and also to understand the magnitude of the agitation, since the agitators warned the government of stepping up their protests if their demands of including Kapus in BCs are not addressed at the earliest.
Incidentally, the Kapu agitation has numerous similarities with the Hardik Patel led Patidar agitation which stormed Gujarat last year. The 22-year-old Hardik Patel became the face of Patidar community, which has been demanding the Gujarat government to include Patidars in the OBCs.
Till date, the Patidar reservation agitation, which took its rise after PM Modi failed to live up to his 2014 poll promise of ‘uplifting the Patidars’, has not found any clear solution to the main issue of reservation in Government jobs and education under OBC category, while Hardik is stuck into a pile of legal cases levied against him by the state.
Similarly in AP, CM Nara Chandrababu Naidu, in his 2014 election campaign, promised to pave a red carpet to Kapus in the cabinet and also carry out various developmental schemes for Kapus. However, not happy with Babu’s initiatives, a group of Kapu leaders called for an ambitious agitation.
Noticing the impact of BJP’s setback in the last year’s civic polls in Gujarat, where the 1.5 crore Patidars went all against the ruling party, Babu’s government will be wary of the dissent among the 27% Kapu population in the state, if the agitation succeeds in catching more steam in the coming days.
Recent Random Post:
