HYDERABAD: Dalit organisations and aspirants are expressing strong opposition to the Congress government’s decision to announce competitive examination results without implementing Scheduled Caste (SC) categorisation. The release of the results for Group 1, 2, and 3 exams has triggered widespread criticism, with protesters demanding that categorisation be implemented first.
Following a Supreme Court verdict, the Telangana government had set up a cabinet sub-committee led by Minister Uttam Kumar and a one-member judicial commission headed by retired High Court judge Justice Shameem Akhtar to oversee the implementation of SC reservations. The commission submitted its report, which was approved by the state cabinet.
In 2011, the erstwhile Andhra Pradesh government categorized SC reservations based on census data, determining a total SC population of 52,17,684 and dividing 59 Scheduled Castes into three groups. The 15% reservation for SCs was proposed to be distributed as follows:
- Group A (15 SC castes): 1%
- Group B (18 SC castes): 9%
- Group C (26 SC castes): 5%
The Congress government introduced and approved this report in the Assembly. However, this categorisation has been widely criticized. Now, with the government proceeding to announce the results of previously conducted competitive exams without implementing categorisation, Dalit groups are raising concerns.
SC Verdict & Assembly Announcement
On August 1, 2023, the Supreme Court ruled that states have the authority to categorize SC reservations. Following this, Chief Minister Revanth Reddy announced in the Assembly that job notifications and recruitment would take place only after categorisation was implemented. However, the government has now backtracked on this promise.
Despite the Assembly’s approval of the categorisation report, the government is reportedly moving ahead with recruitment plans without implementing it. The schedule for the release of various exam results includes:
- Group-1 results: March 10
- Group-2 General Rank List: March 11
- Group-3 General Rank List: March 14
- Final List of Hostel Welfare Officer Posts: March 17
- General Rank List for Extension Officer Posts: March 19
Dalit organisations are strongly opposing the government’s approach to SC categorisation. They claim that the government is preparing to fill Group-1, 2, 3, 4, and other posts by December, which they see as an injustice to the Madiga community.
