Revanth Finalises Political, Legal Strategy
The Congress government is treating the BC reservation as a prestige and priority issue and is determined to defend it at every level.
Hyderabad:The Telangana High Court on Wednesday is set to hear petitions challenging the state government’s GO 9 that provides enhanced reservation of 42 per cent for the Backward Classes (BCs) community in the local body elections.
With the outcome likely to decide the schedule of the elections, Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy on Tuesday held a high-level review meeting with ministers and senior Congress leaders at his residence to finalise the government’s legal and political strategy.
Revanth Reddy spoke over phone with senior Supreme Court lawyer and Rajya Sabha member Abhishek Manu Singhvi, requesting him to personally appear before the High Court to present arguments, defending the GO on the BC quota. Singhvi, who represented the Telangana government in the Supreme Court on Monday, is expected to arrive in Hyderabad on Wednesday morning.
The Chief Minister was joined at the meeting by Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka, AICC Telangana in-charge Meenakshi Natarajan, TPCC president B. Mahesh Kumar Goud, and ministers N. Uttam Kumar Reddy, Ponnam Prabhakar, Vakiti Srihari and Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy. The discussion focused on the strategy to be adopted before the High Court and the legal arguments to be advanced in defence of the BC quota.
The Congress government is treating the BC reservation as a prestige and priority issue and is determined to defend it at every level. The Chief Minister has instructed the legal team to leave no stone unturned to present strong arguments before the High Court to secure a favourable verdict.
Acting on his direction, Bhatti and a group of ministers had travelled to Delhi on Monday to consult legal experts and senior advocates. They also attended the Supreme Court hearing on the issue, during which Singhvi and Siddharth Dave represented the Telangana government.
The Supreme Court refused to stay the local body elections and advised the petitioners to approach the Telangana High Court, where related petitions are already pending. Following this, the Chief Minister held a detailed review to assess the situation and prepare for the High Court hearing.
The Telangana State Election Commission has already announced the schedule for local body elections. The process of filing nominations for the first phase of ZPTC and MPTC elections is scheduled to begin on October 9. However, the election process now hinges on whether the High Court allows the Commission to go ahead with the schedule or decides to stay it.