CM to Camp in Delhi for 42% BC Quota

Hyderabad: Chief Minister Revanth Reddyalong with ministers, Congress MPs, MLAs and MLCs will camp in Delhi for three days, from August 5 to 7, to hold protests to press the demand for immediate Central approval for the 42 per cent reservations for the Backward Classes (BC) communities, including a proposed meeting with President Droupadi Murmu.

This was decided at the Cabinet meeting chaired by the Chief Minister here on Monday.

The delegation, led by Revanth Reddy, and featuring party senior leaders Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge, plans to meet President Droupadi Murmu. The goal is to urge the President to approve Telangana's pending BC quota bills, which are pending with Rashtrapati Bhavan.

The issue has gained urgency due to the deadline set by the Telangana High Court for finalising reservations in local bodies, which ended on July 25. Additionally, an ordinance passed by the state Cabinet on July 10, which aims to facilitate the implementation of the 42 per cent quota in local bodies, is still awaiting the Governor’s approval.

The two key Bills, passed by the Assembly in March this year, aim to grant 42 per cent reservation for the BC communities in education, employment and local bodies. These bills are still pending with the President, despite being sent in March after approval from both the Legislative Assembly and the Legislative Council.

The ordinance to amend the Telangana Panchayat Raj Act of 2018 to implement BC quotas in local bodies is also caught in the logjam, waiting for clearance from the Governor.

With local body elections fast approaching, the state government is under pressure to resolve the issue of BC reservations. The High Court has ordered the completion of the reservation process by the end of this month, adding to the urgency of the matter.

Briefing the media, minister for BC welfare Ponnam Prabakar said the Cabinet had decided on a series of actions to apply pressure on the Centre and accelerate the approval process. On August 5, Telangana MPs will raise their voice in Parliament against the delay in passing the BC reservation bills. The following day, on August 6, a mass protest will take place at Jantar Mantar in Delhi, where state ministers, legislators, and public representatives will gather to demonstrate their resolve.

The climax of the protests will be on August 7 when the Chief Minister, along with nearly 200 representatives from the state, will meet President Murmu to submit a formal request for the approval of the BC reservation bills, Prabhakar said.

"The State Cabinet also discussed the longstanding obstacles that have delayed the implementation of BC reservations. In 2018, the then Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao, had imposed restrictions on BC quotas with a 50 per cent ceiling under the Telangana Panchayat Raj Act, 2018, which has become a major hurdle in the current BC quota expansion," Prabhakar said.

The Congress government, acknowledging these issues, has taken steps to amend the law. On July 10, the Cabinet passed a resolution to bring an ordinance to remove the 50 per cent cap on reservations in local bodies. The ordinance was sent to the Governor on July 14, but it remains pending with Raj Bhavan.