Deputy CM Bhatti Asks State MPs to Get BC Quota Bill Cleared

 Hyderabad: Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka on Thursday appealed to all Telangana MPs to push for an amendment to the Ninth Schedule of the Constitution during the upcoming Winter Session of Parliament, to ensure that the Centre approved the Bill seeking 42 per cent reservation for the Backward Classes (BCs) communities in local bodies.

Bhatti was speaking at an an all-party MPs meeting at Praja Bhavan to brief them on long-pending state issues lying with the Centre. Apart from eight Lok Sabha MPs and one Rajya Sabha member from the Congress, two BJP MPs — M. Raghunandan Rao and Godem Nagesh — attended the meeting.

Twelve MPs, who skipped the meeting included six BJP Lok Sabha members, four BRS Rajya Sabha members, AIMIM Lok Sabha member Asaduddin Owaisi and Congress Rajya Sabha MP Renuka Chowdhury.

The review meeting identified 47 unresolved matters spread across 12 Union ministries, with the subject of semiconductors figuring in the discussion. Bhatti urged the MPs to raise the BC reservation issue prominently in Parliament, either through an adjournment motion or during Question Hour, and to seek a joint appointment with Prime Minister Narendra Modi to submit a representation.

He said Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy was prepared to accompany the delegation to Delhi if the Prime Minister granted time. He stressed that all MPs should act in unison to secure the State’s rightful demands.

Quoting the Chief Minister’s instructions, Bhatti said Telangana MPs should operate as a united forum to represent issues related to the state. He said the government had set up a special division under the planning wing in Delhi to provide them with data or documents within minutes during Parliament sessions. He said the system was designed on the lines of Assembly session readiness, ensuring government departments remained fully geared to support MPs throughout the session.

All previous correspondence with the Centre on matters related to irrigation, power, GST dues and other pending funds had been compiled and made available for MPs to pursue further.

Bhatti informed MPs that the state government would present its achievements and unveil the Telangana Vision Document 2047 on December 9, marking two years of Congress government.

He said the state was gearing up to showcase its roadmap to achieving a three-trillion-dollar economy by 2047 at the Telangana Rising Global Summit, where global companies and eminent personalities would be invited. Committees were being formed for the event, and MPs willing to participate could have their names included. He requested MPs to share contacts of prominent individuals or international organisations that could be invited to the summit in the state’s interest.