18-10-2025 12:00:00 AM
Metro India News | Hyderabad
Deputy Chief Minister Bhatti Vikramarka announced that Singareni workers will receive a Diwali bonus of Rs. 400 crore. Bhatti Vikramarka said, “On behalf of the State government, I express happiness over announcing this bonus to Singareni workers who light up the nation with their hard work.” He conveyed Diwali greetings to the people of Telangana, wishing that everyone’s lives be filled with light, happiness, and prosperity — moving from ignorance to knowledge and from darkness to light.
Speaking to the media at the district Congress party office in Khammam on Friday, Bhatti Vikramarka reiterated that the Congress government is firmly committed to providing 42% reservations for OBCs, as promised in its manifesto.
“For the first time since India’s independence, we conducted a comprehensive socio-economic, educational, and political survey in Telangana. Based on this survey, a Bill to provide 42% reservations for BCs was introduced and unanimously passed in the Assembly and sent to the Governor," he said.
Bhatti Vikramarka explained that the previous BRS government, during the 2018 local body elections, had imposed a 50% cap on total reservations through legislation.
“We repealed that law and issued an ordinance to restore justice. Two Bills — one for local body reservations and another for education and employment — were unanimously passed and sent to the Governor,” he said.
The Deputy Chief Ministersa the government has already taken all required steps — Cabinet resolution, survey, appointment of a dedicated commission, and unanimous Assembly approval — yet the BJP government at the Centre has been obstructing the implementation of the BC reservation Bill for months.
“It is the BJP government at the Centre that is solely responsible for blocking 42% reservations for BCs. The true nature of the BJP has now become clear not only to the people of Telangana but to the entire nation," he said.
Bhatti Vikramarka further revealed that although the Telangana government had repeatedly written to the Centre seeking permission for an all-party delegation to meet the President and the Prime Minister regarding the BC Bill, no approval was granted.
“I appeal to the people to participate in the BC Bandh on October 18, which is being organised across the State against the BJP,” Bhatti Vikramarka said. The Deputy Chief Minister urged Union Ministers Kishan Reddy, Bandi Sanjay, and State BJP President R. Ramachandra Rao to take the initiative to arrange meetings with Prime Minister Modi and the President for approval of the BC Bill.
“Chief Minister Revanth Reddy and all political parties in Telangana are ready to go to Delhi under the leadership of the BJP to press for the Bill’s approval. But the Centre is not even granting us an appointment," he added.