KCR's Cabinet May Trigger Caste War In Telangana

The induction of six new ministers into the Telangana State Cabinet on Tuesday might trigger a caste war in the near future as it has completely changed its caste composition.

Although Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao has tried to strike some sort of a caste balance, it is likely to trigger discontent among some castes and communities which are not representated proportionately.

Reddys continue their dominance and constitute one-third of KCR's council of ministers although they constitute only about 6% of the State's population. Of the 18 ministers, six belong to the Reddy community. They are Nayani Narasimha Reddy, Pocharam Srinivasa Reddy, Ch Laxma Reddy, Jagadish Reddy, P Mahender Reddy and A Indrakaran Reddy. This move by KCR could be aimed at the Congress which is generally viewed as the best Party for the Reddys.

The next dominant community in the Telangana Cabinet is Velama. Besides KCR, his son K Tarakarama Rao and nephew T Harish Rao, the new minister Jupalli Krishna Rao also belongs to the community. Despite constituting less than 0.5% of the total population in the State, the Velama comprise almost 22% of the State Cabinet.

With the inclusion of Talasani Srinivas Yadav, the representation of the Backward Classes in the State Cabinet has increased to four. All BC ministers in KCR's cabinet represent dominant castes. Finance Minister Etala Rajendra is a Mudiraj, Jogu Ramanna is a Munnur Kapu, T Padma Rao is a Goud and Talasani is a Yadava.

Tummala Nageshwara Rao represents the Kamma community that exists in large numbers in the Khammam, Warangal, Nalgonda, Nizamabad and Hyderabad districts. Traditionally this community had associated itself with the Telugu Desam Party.

The remaining three berths in the cabinet are shared by the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and minorities who together constitute more than 27% of the total population. As per the 2001 Census, the SCs are 15.8%, the Muslims are 12.4% and the STs are 8.9% in Telangana. The SCs and STs are further divided into two major castes - Madigas and Malas.

While Deputy Chief Minister Dr T Rajaiah represents the Madigas, the Malas have no representation in the Cabinet, and therefore there were strong protests in Karimnagar and other places demanding a Cabinet berth for Koppula Eshwar, who has been made the Chief Whip.

Ajmeera Chandulal, who has been inducted into the Cabinet today, belongs to the Lambada community, and is the lone representative of the STs. Similarly, Deputy Chief Minister Mahmood Ali is the lone representative of the minorities in the Cabinet.

Interestingly, the Chief Minister has promised 12% reservation for both STs and Muslims in jobs and education although their representation in the State cabinet is mere 5% each. (INN)