Andhra Pradesh gives 5% reservation to Kapus, Balija, Ontari comminities

The Andhra Pradesh state assembly in a late sitting on Thursday passed a Bill to provide five per cent reservation to the Kapu, Telaga, Balija and Ontari communities, and another five per cent reservation to economically weaker sections.

Of the five per cent reservation to Kapus, one third will be allocated to women.

Backward Caste Welfare Minister K Acchennaidu introduced the bill in the House and after a discussion, the Bill was passed unanimously.

The Kapu community, who form a considerable chunk of population in Andhra Pradesh, has been demanding reservation for the backward caste since a long time.

The Andhra assembly had passed a resolution seeking the central government to include Kapu community in backward castes without hampering the existing reservations, in December 2017. However, that did not materialise.

Recently, the central government announced 10 per cent reservations to economically weaker sections. The state government has decided to dedicate five per cent of that reservation to Kapu, Telaga, Balija and Ontari communities.

-ANI