Kapu quota hits Centre’s block

The Central government’s department of personnel and training (DoPT) has raised objections to reservations for Kapus.

Following AP’s demand for reservation to Kapus in educational institutions and appointments or posts in the services, the ministry of home affairs (MHA) had sought the opinion of all departments.

In its reply to the MHA, DoPT said that the government of Andhra Pradesh has not brought out any facts or grounds to prove that its reservation proposal, which is in violation of the orders of the Supreme Court, merits an exception. In its letter to MHA on February 6, the DoPT also opined that MHA may consider making a plea that Presidential assent may be withheld in this case.

AP Bhavan officials in Delhi had forwarded a copy of DoPT’s letter to the state government.

The DoPT in its reply cited the Indira Sawhney case in which a nine-judge Constitutional bench of the Supreme Court held that clause (4) of Article 16 of the Constitution speaks of ‘adequate’ representation and not 'proportionate' representation. The bench had also held that reservation contemplated in clause (4) of Article 16 shouldn't exceed 50 per cent. But it observed that relaxation can be done in extraordinary situations and while doing so extreme caution has to be exercised and a special case needs to be made out.

The DoPT said that the government of AP hasn't brought out any such extraordinary situations.

After examining the contention, the Telugu Desamled AP government is exploring options available to it on this issue. With the Centre objecting to it, there is a possibility that the TD would claim to have tried its level best on this issue.