42 pc BC quota issue takes centerstage ahead of Telangana local body polls

Hyderabad: All key political players in Telangana are vying with each other to capitalise on the reservation for backward classes (BCs) in the run-up to local body elections in the state.

With the High Court recently directing the state government to conduct panchayat polls within three months, the ruling Congress and opposition Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) are going all out to take mileage from the BC reservation issue.

Both Congress and BRS are trying to mount pressure on BJP’s state leadership to secure approval from the Centre for two BC reservation bills passed by the state legislature, providing 42 per cent reservation for BCs in education, jobs and local bodies.

The BJP, however, has launched a counter-attack saying the responsibility to implement BC reservations lies with the state government.

Telangana Jagruthi president and BRS MLC K. Kavitha’s call for ‘Rail Roko’ on July 17 to mount pressure on the BJP to secure Presidential assent for the BC bills and AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge’s reported direction to the Congress government to go for local body elections only after implementing 42 per cent BC reservations as promised have heated up politics over the issue.

Kavitha, daughter of BRS president and former chief minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao, tried to take political advantage by dashing off a letter to Kharge on his visit to Hyderabad on July 4.

She urged the Congress chief to conduct local body polls only after implementing the poll promise of a 42 per cent quota.

She questioned the silence of top Congress leaders, including Kharge and the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, on the BC reservation.

Kavitha also asked Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy as to why he was not leading an all-party delegation to the Centre to press for finalisation of the BC reservation issue.

Telangana Congress president Mahesh Kumar Goud questioned the credibility of Kavitha.

“The tone and tenor of the letter is quite strange from a person who never spoke a word on BC quota when she was an MP and MLC when her father was the Chief Minister for nearly 10 years,” said Goud.

Kharge virtually launched the Congress campaign for local body polls on July 4 by addressing a meeting of the party’s village, mandal and district-level presidents and other party functionaries. He vowed to continue the fight to make the Centre agree to 42 per cent BC reservation.

Kavitha sent another letter to the newly appointed state president of the BJP, Ramchander Rao, to secure the Centre’s nod for BC reservation bills.

She pointed out that it has been a long time since the bills were sent for Presidential approval, but there has been no progress.

“If BJP is truly committed to the cause of OBCs, must act now. It’s the responsibility of Mr Ramchander Rao to get the bills cleared by the Centre,” she said.

Meanwhile, BJP state chief Rao challenged the Congress party to implement its promise of 42 per cent reservation for backward classes ahead of the local body polls if it truly believed in social justice.

Citing legal issues involved, Rao suspects the sincerity of the State government in implementing the 42 per cent reservation.

“The Congress government would have consulted legal experts before passing the bills if it were committed to the welfare and advancement of the BCs,” he said.

Telangana Assembly, on March 17, unanimously passed two bills to enhance reservations for BCs to 42 per cent in education, employment and elections to rural and urban local bodies.

Telangana Backward Classes, Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (reservation of seats in educational institutions and of appointments or posts in services under the State) Bill 2025 and The Telangana Backward Classes (Reservation of seats in Rural and Urban Local Bodies) Bill 2025 were adopted by the Assembly.

The bills enhanced reservations for BCs from the existing 25 per cent in education and employment and 23 per cent in local bodies. This was the major promise made by Congress in the ‘BC declaration’ announced in the Assembly elections held in 2023.

As enhancing BC reservations to 42 per cent will breach the 50 per cent Supreme Court ceiling for the overall quota for all sections, the bills passed by the state Assembly require the Centre’s approval.

Revanth Reddy on March 17 wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, seeking time to meet him along with leaders of all political parties on enhancing reservations to BCs.

The Chief Minister sought an appointment to meet the Prime Minister along with leaders of Congress, BJP, AIMIM, and CPI.

The Congress has been urging the state BJP leaders to persuade Prime Minister Modi to include in the 9th Schedule of the Constitution of India the bills passed by the Telangana Assembly.

With “no response” from the Centre, the Congress party is planning to fix the BC reservation at 42 per cent based on the caste survey by exercising the powers under Article 243D (6) of the Constitution.

The state government is consulting Constitutional experts and also sought the law department’s opinion.

Political observers say by enhancing the BC quota by exercising its Constitutional powers, Congress will go to the polls claiming credit for the hike in the BC reservation.

The issue of BC reservation hit the spotlight after the Congress government conducted a caste survey, which revealed that BCs constitute 56.33 per cent (including 10 per cent BC Muslims). Backward groups among Muslims currently enjoy 4 per cent reservations in education and employment. They are categorised as BC (E).

IANS