Hyderabad: The Telangana Congress government’s move to extend 42% reservation to Backward Classes (BCs) has triggered sharp resistance from the BJP and drawn scrutiny from the Governor’s office.
BJP state president N Ramchander Rao on Monday dismissed the proposal as unviable, citing the Supreme Court’s cap of 50% on total reservations. He questioned the state’s move to bypass this limit by seeking to include the law under the Constitution’s Ninth Schedule and argued that increasing the quota would require amending Section 285 of the Panchayati Raj Act.
Angered by this line of opposition, Congress minister Ponnam Prabhakar accused Ramchander Rao of “revealing his true colours,” and pointed to Tamil Nadu as a precedent where reservation limits exceed the 50% threshold. He demanded BJP MPs from Telangana resign if they truly opposed BC reservations and warned the Centre not to stall the policy.
Union Minister Bandi Sanjay Kumar reiterated that the Congress must implement the Kamareddy Declaration it had publicly committed to, and criticised the attempt to shift blame onto the Centre by invoking the Ninth Schedule. He also raised objections to including Muslims in the BC list.
To mount pressure on the Centre, Chief Minister Revanth Reddy will meet Congress MPs in Delhi on July 24. He plans to brief them on the caste census process and urge AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge and Lok Sabha Opposition Leader Rahul Gandhi to push for the bill’s inclusion in the Ninth Schedule through both Houses of Parliament.
Meanwhile, Governor Jishnu Dev Varma has sought legal advice on the ordinance amending Section 285(A) of the 2018 Panchayati Raj Act. The Act previously capped reservations at 50%. The amendment, based on empirical data from the state’s caste survey, has been sent to the Raj Bhavan for assent. The Governor’s response remains uncertain and has become a political flashpoint.
The Congress has pursued a three-step strategy: conducting a caste census, passing a resolution in the assembly, and issuing an ordinance. The ordinance was forwarded after the state cabinet met by proroguing the assembly and council, in line with a High Court order to complete local body elections by September 30.
With reservations needing to be finalised before elections to village panchayats, municipalities, municipal corporations, mandal and zilla parishads, the Congress is racing against time. The outcome of its legislative push will shape the reservation structure for thousands of posts across Telangana.