KIRLAMPUDI (East Godavari): Kapu leader and former Minister Mudragada Padmanabham said here on Monday he would discuss the contentious issue of inclusion of the community in the list of Backward Classes with Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu only if he got a proper invitation. Two Ministers had sent feelers to him through ‘an elderly person,’ he added.
Addressing media conference, Mr. Padmanabham said while he was ready for a dialogue, he would not compromise on his principal demand.
He released a note detailing Kapu agitations in the State from 1993-94, his principled stand on the issue and how ruling parties tried to suppress his agitation. He had been fighting for the cause for the last 14 months, but the State government was trying to discredit the movement by branding it a political campaign.
Mr. Padmanabham alleged that the government was targeting community leaders by getting criminal cases filed against them in different police stations for questioning its inaction on promises it made during poll campaign. The police were not granting permission for even peaceful protests such rallies and padayatras. He wondered when the ‘persecution’ would end.
He challenged the government to prove the involvement of Kapu leaders in the Tuni train burning incident.
