Telangana to file review petition against scrapping of GO 3

Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao on Tuesday declared that the State government will file a review petition in the Supreme Court against the Apex Court’s dismissal of Government Order 3/2000 reserving cent per cent teachers posts in agency areas for local tribes.

The Chief Minister instructed the officials concerned to study the legal and Constitutional provisions and file a review petition in the Supreme Court immediately in this regard.

Government Whip Rega Kantha Rao and MLA Sri Athram Sakku met Chandrashekhar Rao at Pragathi Bhavan here and submitted a memorandum stating that the SC verdict would do a lot of injustice to the local tribes and urged the government to wage a legal battle.

The government in the past had issued a GO reserving cent per cent teachers jobs for the local tribes in tribal areas notified in the Fifth Schedule of the Constitution. Some people went to court in this regard and after several stages, the Supreme Court dismissed the said GO. The TRS MLAs brought to the notice of the Chief Minister that the SC verdict would do injustice to the local tribes. They said for the tribes residing in the reserved areas prior to January 26, 1950, there was a system to reserve cent per cent jobs for them. With this, the local STs benefitted to some extent. But with the SC striking down the GO, the local tribals will lose the facility.

The SC verdict was in total contravention of the special rights provided in the Constitution. They urged the State government to wage a legal battle on the matter. The Chief Minister responded



positively to the MLAs’ plea. Stating that continuing with the ST reservation was justifiable, he instructed the officials to prepare arguments to continue the ST reservation and file a review petition. Chandrashekhar Rao said the Constitution itself gave special rights and reservations to the STs. 

The State government would stand by the STs to safeguard the reservations accorded to them, he said.

Meanwhile, a total bandh was observed in tribal areas in Adilabad, Asifabad, Nirmal, Utnoor, Karimnagar, Khammam, Kothagudem, Mancherial and Nizamabad on Tuesday led by Adivasi Hakkula Porata Samithi. They urged the State government to file a review petition.

In fact, the GO was issued by the then AP government in 2000 to promote and strengthen education infrastructure in tribal areas and to curb teacher absenteeism, in remote areas. On April 22 this year, the Apex Court quashed the order calling the cent per cent reservation for local tribals as unconstitutional and arbitrary. The Five Judge Constitutional Bench consisting of justices Arun Mishra, Indira Banerjee, Vineet Saran, Shah and Aniruddha Bose however said the Telugu States could file a review petition if they have any objections.

The mood of the State government was revealed by the State ST Welfare Minister Satyavathi Rathod on May 1 when she said that the tribal people of the State need not worry about the SC verdict as the Chief Minister had already promised to avail all legal options to protect the rights of the tribals.