Revanth Urges Governor to Clear 42% BC Quota Ordinance
Revanth Reddy explained that the State Cabinet had approved the draft Ordinance on July 10 and forwarded it to Raj Bhavan on July 14, where it has since awaited approval.
Hyderabad: Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy has urged Governor Jishnu Dev Varma to clear the pending Ordinance that would amend the Telangana Panchayat Raj Act, 2018, and enable 42 per cent reservation for Backward Classes (BCs) in the forthcoming local body elections.
On Saturday, the Chief Minister, accompanied by Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka, attended the swearing in of Justice A.K. Singh as Chief Justice of the Telangana High Court at Raj Bhavan. After the ceremony, he met the Governor to press for speedy assent to the Ordinance, official sources said.
Revanth Reddy explained that the State Cabinet had approved the draft Ordinance on July 10 and forwarded it to Raj Bhavan on July 14, where it has since awaited approval. Governor Varma reportedly told the Chief Minister that he had requested a legal opinion and expected it within a day or two; while inclined to sign, he wishes to avoid future legal complications.
The Chief Minister stressed the urgency: the High Court has directed the government to finalise the quantum of BC reservations by the end of July and to complete local body polls by the end of September. He also addressed the Governor’s concern over breaching the Supreme Court’s 50 per cent ceiling on total reservations. If BC reservations rise to 42 per cent, combined quotas for BCs (42 per cent), SCs (18 per cent), and STs (10 per cent) will reach 70 per cent.
Revanth Reddy argued that an exception is justified because Telangana’s November–December 2024 caste census and the Dedicated BC Commission’s March 2025 report provide empirical evidence of BC under representation in education, employment, and politics. Supreme Court precedent, he noted, allows states to exceed the 50 per cent cap when backed by such data.
The Ordinance will amend Section 285 A of the 2018 Act, enacted under the previous BRS government, which currently limits combined BC, SC, and ST reservations to 50 per cent. In the 2019 local body elections BCs received only 22 per cent to comply with that cap; the Congress government now proposes to raise BC reservations to 42 per cent, alongside SCs at 18 per cent and STs at 10 per cent.
State officials remain confident that the caste census findings and BC Commission report will enable the amendment to withstand any legal challenge once the Governor gives his assent.
