metro india news  I hyderabad

The Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy has expressed disappointment over the inability to secure an appointment with the President of India to discuss the pending bills for 42% OBC reservations in education, employment, and local body elections in Telangana. The Chief Minister highlighted this as a deliberate obstruction by the Central Government and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), accusing them of undermining the aspirations of Telangana’s weaker sections.

Revanth Reddy announced that upon returning to Hyderabad, the Congress party will convene a Political Affairs Committee (PAC) meeting to strategize the future course of action to ensure the implementation of these reservations. The PAC will deliberate on legal, judicial, and public mobilization strategies to pressure the Centre into approving the bills, which have been pending with the President for four months, Revanth said, while addressing a press meet in New Delhi accompanied by cabinet colleagues, Congress MPs, and MLAs, addressed a press conference in New Delhi. 

The Chief Minister recalled the Congress party’s commitment during Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra in Telangana, where promises were made to conduct a caste census and enhance reservations for weaker sections. Following the formation of the Congress government in Telangana, the state cabinet initiated a caste census on February 4, 2024, completing it by February 4, 2025. Based on the census data, the Telangana Assembly passed two bills to provide 42% reservations for OBCs in education, employment, and local body elections. 

These bills, along with an ordinance amending a restrictive 50% reservation cap set by the previous BRS government under K Chandrashekar Rao, were sent to the Governor, who forwarded them to the President for approval.

Revanth Reddy accused the BJP-led Central Government of stalling these bills, citing their historical opposition to OBC reservations, including during the Mandal Commission era and UPA’s efforts to implement reservations in central institutions. He criticized the BJP and BRS for colluding to obstruct the Congress government’s initiatives, alleging that the BRS’s silence on the issue reflects their complicity. The Chief Minister also refuted claims by Union Minister Kishan Reddy, asserting that the proposed reservations are based on social and economic backwardness, not religion, and are in line with constitutional provisions.

The Congress delegation, supported by Rahul Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge, and Sonia Gandhi, organized protests at Jantar Mantar on Wednesday, backed by over 100 MPs from the INDIA alliance, including SP, NCP, DMK, and CPI(M). Despite these efforts, the lack of cooperation from the Centre and the absence of an appointment with the President were termed “insulting” to Telangana’s people. Revanth Reddy vowed to continue the fight for OBC justice, warning that the BJP and BRS’s actions would face public backlash.