All-Party Team Urges Governor To Clear Quota Bills
An all-party delegation led by BC welfare minister Ponnam Prabhakar met Governor Jishnu Dev Varma at Raj Bhavan on Monday, requesting him to assent the Municipalities and Panchayat Raj Amendment Bills passed by the Legislature.
Hyderabad: An all-party delegation led by BC welfare minister Ponnam Prabhakar met Governor Jishnu Dev Varma at Raj Bhavan on Monday, requesting him to assent the Municipalities and Panchayat Raj Amendment Bills passed by the Legislature. The Bills seek to lift the 50 per cent ceiling on total reservations in local bodies to enable the implementation of a 42 per cent quota for the Backward Classes communities.
The delegation included panchayat raj minister D. Anasuya, TPCC president B. Mahesh Kumar Goud, government whips Adi Srinivas and Beerla Ilaiah, CPI leader K. Narayana, MLC Nellikanti Satyam, and BRS MLA K. P. Vivekanand.
Significantly, no BJP or AIMIM representatives were present in the all-party delegation.
They submitted a memorandum to the Governor highlighting the urgency of the issue, pointing out that the Bills had been passed in both the Assembly and the Council on Sunday and Monday respectively through a voice-vote and reflected the consensus of the House.
Speaking to the media at Raj Bhavan, TPCC president Mahesh Kumar Goud said the measures had the support of all political parties present in the Assembly. He urged the Governor to give his assent quickly so that the state government could proceed with implementation, especially ahead of the local body elections. He asserted that the bills represented the unanimous mood of the Legislature and a genuine step toward social justice.
Speaking to media persons later, Prabhakar attacked the BRS for acting like a feudal party and attempting to block discussions on BC reservations in the Legislative Council on Monday He said society was observing the stance of each political party and argued that the BRS’s resistance revealed its lack of respect for backward communities. He also questioned why BRS leaders had not participated in the caste census survey, adding that their opposition to the 42 per cent quota amounted to undermining democracy itself.
Prabhakar called on the BRS to extend unequivocal support to the legislation instead of trying to stall its progress. He described attempts to obstruct the bill as a conspiracy against BCs and warned that denying rightful representation to disadvantaged groups was a serious injustice.
CPI leader K. Narayana said the increase in reservations was necessary to ensure greater participation of BCs in governance at the grassroots level. He said that the measure was in line with constitutional principles and essential to strengthen local democracy.
