Hyderabad: Union Minister Kishan Reddy escalated his attack on the Congress over the BC quota issue, accusing the party of betrayal and ridiculing Chief Minister Revanth Reddy’s jibe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a “converted BC.”
He demanded that Congress clarify the caste background of its top leaders, including Rahul Gandhi, before targeting Modi. Congratulating Modi on becoming the second-longest serving Prime Minister, Reddy said it was shameful that a leader of Revanth’s stature would resort to such language.
Slamming the Congress for backtracking on its pre-poll promises, Reddy said the party assured 42% reservation for BCs in its Telangana declaration but implemented only 32%. He termed it a clear betrayal. He also accused the party of inflating BC quotas during GHMC elections only to divert benefits to non-BC groups.
Reddy strongly opposed the state’s decision to raise Muslim reservations to 10%, calling it an unconstitutional move designed to undercut BC opportunities. He reminded that the Supreme Court had termed the original 4% quota unconstitutional, yet Congress governments kept it in force through stay orders.
Defending Modi’s OBC status, Reddy said his caste was included in the BC list through the Mandal Commission, just like hundreds of other castes including Vishwabrahmins. He asked whether the Congress would now discredit all such inclusions. “Do you now say Modi is a converted BC? Then say the same for all added castes,” he said.
Reddy claimed the BJP made the BC Commission a statutory body and noted that the majority of MPs from the party belong to the BC community. He criticised the Congress for never appointing a BC as either Prime Minister or Chief Minister and said it lacked the moral ground to champion their cause.
He challenged the Congress to publicly declare Rahul Gandhi’s caste and stop using BC leaders for political gain. “If your party believes in BC empowerment, start with honesty,” he said.
On the upcoming local body elections, Reddy said BJP supports conducting them under enhanced BC quotas, but stressed that respecting court rulings is everyone’s responsibility.
He dismissed the Congress’s political prospects, saying “even if a thousand Revanths and Rahuls show up, the Congress won’t survive.” He said the people had rejected the party and its address had “vanished from the political map.”
