With the announcement of Kapu Nestham scheme, all the attention in AP has drawn onto the castes and communities. In a TV debate on the hot topic, congress party’s senior leader Tulasi Reddy has made interesting comments. Alleging that the Kapu community in Rayalaseema region has been grossly ignored and kept out of the benefits from the government for Kapus, Tulasi Reddy alleged that none from the Kapu street had got any government benefit that was granted for their community. He said Rayalaseema is not just the most backward region in the state, but it is one of the backward regions in the country. He asked why Kapus in Rayalseema were not accorded the government benefits. He asked whether it was sin for Kapus to be born in Rayalseema.
Interestingly, Tulasi Reddy has raised the topic of close resemblance between Kapu and Reddy. He said the majority of Reddys in Seema were Kapus going by the caste certificates. Tulasi Reddy said that even CM YS Jagan is a Kapu by his caste certificate. He said, “Neelam Sanjeev Reddy, Kotla Vijay Bhaskar Reddy, Kiran Kumar Reddy, YS Rajasekhar Reddy and YS Jagan Reddy are Kapus if one goes by their caste certificates.”
Tulasi Reddy said the last name can’t decide the caste of an individual. Sharing an example, Tulasi Reddy said “PV Narasimha Rao has ‘Rao’, Kalvakuntla Chandrasekhar Rao has ‘Rao’ and Nandamuri Taraka Ramarao has ‘Rao’. But all the three are from different castes.” He further added that only caste certificates are authorized to decide the caste of an individual. So, these remarks of Tulasi Reddy on CM Jagan’s caste has kicked up a debating topic.
While AP state government announced that Kapu Nestham would benefit 2.6 lakh women from Kapu community and started the identification of the beneficiaries, opposition are terming the move as a “big scam” by Jagan’s administration. Opposition parties alleged that real Kapu community people are not getting the due benefits of the scheme and demanded a probe into the scheme as to who is actually benefiting from the scheme. TDP leaders alleged the role of corruption in the scheme.
