Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee president Mahesh Goud questioned the BJP’s commitment to backward communities. “Can Kishan Reddy even file a nomination in Secunderabad without the support of SCs, STs, and BCs?” he asked.
Published Aug 06, 2025 | 8:19 PM ⚊ Updated Aug 06, 2025 | 8:19 PM
Deputy Chief Minister Bhatti Vikramarka Mallu framed it as a federal issue rather than one of partisan politics.
Synopsis: Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy led a protest at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi on 6 August, demanding immediate presidential assent to two state bills and an ordinance providing 42 percent reservation for Backward Classes in education, employment, and local body elections. Revanth accused the BJP of ‘cheating weaker sections of society’ by deliberately withholding assent to the bills, despite their having been unanimously cleared by the state legislature months earlier.
Nearly four months after the ruling Congress in Telangana passed two legislations providing 42 percent reservation for Backward Classes (BCs) in local body elections, employment, and education, Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy led a protest at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi on 6 August, joined by Cabinet members and state Congress leaders, demanding presidential assent to the bills.
The policy was a key campaign promise ahead of the 2023 Assembly elections, which brought the Congress to power. It is based on the findings of the state’s caste census conducted earlier this year.
The protest follows several attempts by the Revanth Reddy government to implement the policy, including the passage of an ordinance amending the 2018 Panchayat Raj Act to lift the 50 percent cap on reservations, in order to enable implementation at least in the local body elections.
These polls, long pending, are mandated to be held by the end of September as per a court order. However, like the two bills, the ordinance is also awaiting the Governor’s assent.
The delegation is now pushing for immediate approval of all pending legislations and seeking an audience with President Droupadi Murmu.
Chief Minister Revanth Reddy accused the BJP-led Centre of “cheating weaker sections of society by holding off on the assent to both the BC reservation bill and ordinance.”
“We are questioning the NDA from Jantar Mantar. Will you fulfil our demands or do you want us to oust you from power and fly the Congress flag atop Red Fort and make Rahul Gandhi the Prime Minister?” he said, speaking at the protest.
Signalling his government’s intent to escalate the political pressure, he warned, “Either give us 42 percent or we will oust you. I want Narendra Modi to stay in power till 2029 so that we can do something Atal Bihari Vajpayee and the RSS couldn’t: bring Modi down from power and win with Rahul Gandhi.”
Deputy Chief Minister Bhatti Vikramarka Mallu expressed confidence in a favourable outcome, pointing out that the state’s caste census had become a model for others, guiding “the direction and vision of the nation.”
He stated that all statutory procedures from the state’s side had been completed. Telangana MPs have raised the matter in Parliament, with support from Congress and allied parties.
Mallu framed it as a federal issue rather than one of partisan politics, asserting, “Telangana has become a guiding light for the nation. Telangana is rising.”
Explaining the purpose of the ordinance, he said it was essential to override the 50 percent reservation ceiling, without which the previous cap would continue to apply.
Calling the ongoing mobilisation a “historic movement that deserves to be etched in golden letters in Indian history,” Mallu highlighted the extensive planning and scale of the caste census, conducted with the participation of over 1,05,000 government employees. He praised the exercise for its accuracy and depth.
He highlighted that the Cabinet had approved the survey findings and that the bill had received unanimous backing in the Assembly. The Governor subsequently forwarded it to the President, from whom the final assent is now awaited.
AICC in-charge for Telangana, Meenakshi Natarajan, underlined the historical weight of the movement, stating, “We came to Delhi for 42 per cent BC reservations. We came for our rights.”
She drew a parallel with Bhoodan Pochampalli’s legacy, saying, “Currently, Revanth Reddy is distributing social rights.” Highlighting the scale and uniqueness of the state’s efforts, she said, “The caste census that took place in Telangana was not done anywhere else in the world.”
Calling the campaign a message to the nation for irreversible change, Natarajan added, “We will get 42 per cent reservation. If we give BCs one chance, miracle workers will be created.”
Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee president Mahesh Goud questioned the BJP’s commitment to backward communities. “Can Kishan Reddy even file a nomination in Secunderabad without the support of SCs, STs, and BCs?” he asked.
He accused BJP leaders of exploiting religious politics and criticised their shifting positions. Praising the Congress government’s data-driven approach, he said, “It is no small thing that Telangana officially documented that BCs constitute 57 percent of the population through the caste survey.”
Asserting Telangana’s lead role in social justice, he added, “Telangana has become a role model and a guide to the nation with this caste survey.” Reaffirming the party’s determination, he declared, “We will go to any extent to achieve 42 percent reservations for BCs.”
DMK MP Kanimozhi lauded Telangana’s initiative and took aim at the reservation ceiling argument, saying, “People say that there is a cap of 50 percent on reservations. How can someone say that there is a cap on justice? Today, we are making a big wrong right.”
The DMK, which has long supported OBC reservations and currently implements a 69 percent quota in Tamil Nadu, pledged full support to Telangana. Kanimozhi also criticised state governors, calling them “tools of oppression for the BJP.”
RJD MP Dharmendra Yadav extended solidarity from Uttar Pradesh, stating, “I demand that the Government fulfil Telangana’s demands. If they fail to do so, we will join you in your fight. UP stands with Telangana and will continue to do so.”
Kerala’s CPI(M) MP Sivadasan condemned the hold-up at Rashtrapati Bhavan and the larger pattern of governors withholding assent to legislation across the country. “Everywhere in India, governors are doing the same thing, trying to impose their own Raj,” he said, while expressing support for the Telangana Assembly’s action.
Independent MP Rajesh Ranjan, popularly known as Pappu Yadav, credited southern states for leading the social justice movement. “If anyone has the spirit of Periyar, Ambedkar, and Phule, it is Rahul Gandhi… This fight is not between two classes. It is a fight for social justice and rights,” he said.
NCP MP Supriya Sule also lent her backing, pointing to Revanth Reddy’s rise from grassroots to Chief Minister as evidence of the Congress’s commitment to empowering marginalised communities.
With pressure building at both state and national levels, the direction of the upcoming local body elections in Telangana remains closely watched.
(Edited by Dese Gowda)
