Cabinet composition may trigger caste war

Hyderabad, Dec 16 (INN): The induction of six new ministers on Tuesday might trigger a caste war in near future as it has completely changed the caste composition of Telangana State Cabinet.

Although Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao has tried to strike a caste-balance by following majoritarian theory, it is likely to incite the debate of proportionate representation by some castes or communities who felt left-out in the process of cabinet formation or expansion.

Reddys continue their dominance and constitute one-third of KCR's Council of Ministers although they constitute nearly six per cent of the State's population.

Of 18, six ministers belong to 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 Reddy-dominated party.

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 belongs to the Velama community. Despite constituting less than half percent of the total population in the State, Velamas' representation in the State Cabinet is almost 22 per cent.

With the inclusion of Talasani Srinivas Yadav, the representation of 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 a Munnur Kapu, T Padma Rao a Goud and Talasani is a Yadava.

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

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

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

Ajmeera Chandulal, who has been inducted into the cabinet today, belongs to Lambada community and is the lone representatives of STs. Similarly, Deputy Chief Minister Mahmood Ali is the lone representative of minorities in the State 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 five per cent each.