BC communities, which form a substantial portion of Telangana’s population, have long demanded enhanced representation in education, jobs and local governance.
Published Aug 04, 2025 | 2:33 PM ⚊ Updated Aug 04, 2025 | 2:33 PM
Telangana Congress. (Supplied)
Synopsis: The Telangana Congress is set to stage a three-day agitation in New Delhi from Tuesday, 5 August, demanding immediate presidential assent for two key reservation bills passed by the Telangana Legislative Assembly. The party has taken up the action plan to demonstrate its commitment to the Kamareddy Declaration.
The Telangana Congress, led by Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy, is set to stage a high-stakes, three-day protest in New Delhi from Tuesday, 5 August, demanding immediate presidential assent for two key bills regarding backward classes (BCs) reservation passed by the Telangana Legislative Assembly.
The two bills concern the enhancement of BC reservations to 42 percent in local bodies, education, and public employment and have been pending presidential approval since 30 March.
A “Maha Dharna” scheduled for Wednesday, at Jantar Mantar, Delhi’s symbolic protest epicentre, forms the main part of the agitation. A special train carrying party workers departed from Cherlapalli in Hyderabad on Monday morning to mobilise support for the protest.
The Congress’s move is being seen as a political gambit — one that attempts to shift the onus onto the BJP for the delay in implementing the quota. With the Union government yet to clear the bills, the Congress appears poised to go into the next elections promising 42 percent reservations unofficially in local bodies for BCs, arguing that its legislative intent is being stonewalled in Delhi.
The party has taken up the action plan to demonstrate its commitment to the Kamareddy Declaration — its 2023 pre-election promise to expand BC quotas to 42 percent. By passing and forwarding the bills to the Union government, the Congress aims to underscore its intent to deliver on that commitment.
BC communities, which form a substantial portion of Telangana’s population, have long demanded enhanced representation in education, jobs and local governance.
The Assembly passed two critical pieces of legislation on 22 March: The Telangana BCs (Reservation of Seats in Rural and Urban Local Bodies) Bill, 2025, and The Telangana BCs, SCs and STs (Reservation of Seats in Educational Institutions and of Appointments or Posts in State Services) Bill, 2025.
These laws significantly raise the reservation bar beyond existing levels, which, the Congress claims, had been watered down by the previous Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) regime to comply with the Supreme Court’s 50% reservation cap.
Congress is under added pressure due to a Telangana High Court directive mandating local body elections by September 30, 2025. The delay in presidential assent—and the pending ordinance to amend the Telangana Panchayat Raj Act, 2018— has created a legal and administrative bottleneck, prompting the party to take its protest to the national capital.
The agitation, backed by the All India Congress Committee (AICC), is designed to turn on political heat. Revanth Reddy will be joined by state ministers, MPs, MLAs, MLCs, and party cadre from across Telangana. National leaders, including Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and AICC President Mallikarjun Kharge, are also expected to lend their support.
The campaign will kick off on Tuesday with Congress MPs raising the issue in Parliament through an adjournment motion, demanding debate on the delayed BC reservation bills.
The main event — on Wednesday — is a large-scale dharna at Jantar Mantar. Each district unit of the Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) is sending around 25 representatives, transported via a specially arranged train. TPCC president B Mahesh Kumar Goud and AICC in-charge Meenakshi Natarajan will also participate, reinforcing the party’s message of BC empowerment.
Over 100 Congress MPs and INDIA bloc leaders are expected to join the protest, further elevating its political profile.
The agitation will conclude on Thursday with a high-level delegation, led by Revanth Reddy, seeking an audience with President Droupadi Murmu to formally submit a memorandum urging immediate assent to the two reservation bills.
Senior Congress leaders and representatives from other like-minded parties will be part of this delegation, strengthening the call for constitutional amendments to protect the enhanced quota.
To ensure smooth logistics, the TPCC has arranged food, lodging, and identity verification for all participants, with district committees tasked with nominating Aadhaar-verified attendees.
This high-profile demonstration at Jantar Mantar is part of a broader Congress strategy: To nationalise the BC reservation issue and frame it as a question of social justice. The party wants to spotlight the BJP-led Union government’s delay, while showcasing its legislative resolve. The presence of senior national leaders underscores the Congress’s efforts to elevate this beyond a state issue.
Congress leaders have directly accused the NDA government of stalling the reservation bills, chastising Telangana’s BJP MPs and Union ministers for their silence.
BC Welfare Minister Ponnam Prabhakar has publicly called on BJP lawmakers to back the cause, accusing them of hypocrisy. The party has also reminded voters of the BJP’s unfulfilled 2019 promise of conducting an OBC caste census.
This protest comes amid criticism from rival parties. BRS MLC K Kavitha, who began a parallel 72-hour fast from Monday to Wednesday demanding BC quotas, has accused the Congress of insincerity and collusion with the BJP.
Telangana BJP president N Ramchander Rao has dismissed the Jantar Mantar protest as a “political stunt,” even alleging that the Congress is carving out 10 percent of BC quotas for Muslims.
Interestingly, the Congress’s agitation has sparked political chain reactions. The BRS has scheduled its own rally on 8 August, while the BJP already staged a “Maha Dharna” at Hyderabad’s Indira Park on 2 August, led by MP Eatala Rajender. The converging protests signal a political competition in Telangana, with parties vying for the BC welfare narrative.
Ramchander Rao accused the Congress of trying to malign the BJP through theatrics, while BRS MLC Kavitha questioned why the grand old party hasn’t pursued legal recourse, as Tamil Nadu did, to safeguard reservations above the court-imposed ceiling.
(Edited by Muhammed Fazil.)
