Kapu Reservations: Mudragada Ends Fast After Talks

Former minister and Kapu leader Mudragada Padmanabham on Monday called off his hunger strike after talks with the representatives of the State government.

In the one-and-a-half hour meeting, AP ministers Achchen Naidu, Thota Trimurthulu, Kala Venkata Rao and Boddu Bhaskara Rama Rao held talks with the fasting leader and persuaded him to end his four-day fast. Naidu and Venkata Rao offered lime juice to the fasting leader.

Later, a team of doctors examined Mudragada at his residence.

Talking to the media later, Achchen Naidu said that Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu was keen on finding a lasting solution to the grievances of the Kapu community.

He said that successive governments in united Andhra Pradesh had treated Kapus as a vote bank but had never made efforts to solve their chronic problems.

"Therefore, we have come here and held talks with Padmanabham with a commitment to solve the Kapu reservation issue at the behest of the Chief Minister," he said.

He claimed that the talks were successful. The State government had agreed to consider the nine-month period given to the Manjunatha Commission on Kapu reservations as starting from the date of the Cabinet decision. This would effectively bring down the remaining period from nine to less than seven months. The government had also decided to allocate Rs 500 crore for Kapu welfare, and all applications received by the Kapu Development Corporation would be considered positively. The government had also agreed to allocate Rs 1,000 crore in the coming annual budget.

Mudragada's proposal to include a person suggested by him in the BC Welfare Corporation would be placed before the government, Achchen Naidu said.

Pointing out that the State government had appointed a commission to solve the Kapu reservation issue with a determination to find a permanent solution, Achchen Naidu said that the State government would release adequate funds to the commission to provide financial assistance to poor and financially backward people in the Kapu community.

Stating that the flare-up in Tuni on the day of the Kapu meeting caused pain to the people of the State, Achchen Naidu said that the government strongly felt that some anti-social elements masquerading as Kapus resorted to the vandalism.

He also said that the government would study the case thoroughly and initiate action only against the real culprits, and that the innocent would not be touched.