The protest, planned for 17 July, will be a show of strength of the Backward Classes in the state, the Telangana Jagruthi leader said.
Published Jun 17, 2025 | 5:54 PM ⚊ Updated Jun 17, 2025 | 5:54 PM
BRS MLC K Kavitha.
Synopsis: Slamming the Congress, Kavitha said it was conspiring to conduct the local body elections without implementing the proposed 42 percent reservation for Backward Classes.
Telangana Jagruthi President and BRS MLC K Kavitha has called for a statewide rail-roko protest on 17 July, demanding that the Union government approve the Bills passed by the state Assembly for providing 42 percent reservations to Backward Classes (BCs) in local bodies, education, and employment.
Addressing a round table meeting of BCs organised jointly by Telangana Jagruthi and United Phule Front in Medak on Tuesday, 17 June, Kavitha emphasised the need to exert pressure on the central government to approve the Bills.
“This rail roko will not just be a protest, but a declaration of Telangana BCs’ strength to the rulers in Delhi. We will take all BC organisations and leaders together in this protest,” Kavitha announced, warning that the protest would send a strong message to the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre.
Kavitha criticised the Congress-led state government, alleging it was conspiring to conduct local body elections without implementing the proposed 42 percent reservations for BCs.
“We will not allow elections without these reservations. The Congress government has merely sent the Bills to the Centre and washed its hands of the responsibility,” she said, questioning why the state government was not intensifying its efforts to ensure the President’s approval.
Highlighting that many castes among BCs still lack political representation, she argued that reservations are essential to ensure political opportunities, especially for BC women. She demanded a sub-quota for BC women within the women’s reservation.
Kavitha also took a jab at the BJP MP from Medak, Raghunandan Rao, for not voicing support for the BC Bills. “Why has Raghunandan Rao remained silent on the issue? Everyone should question him and the central government on why the BC reservation Bills are not being approved,” she said.
The Telangana state Assembly had unanimously passed two Bills on 17 March to provide 42 percent reservations for BCs in local bodies, government employment, and education.
The 42 percent quota would take the total reservations for BCs, SCs, and STs in the state to 67 percent, exceeding the Supreme Court-set ceiling of 50 percent.
In April, Governor Jishnu Dev Varma forwarded the Bills to President Droupadi Murmu for consideration.
