HYDERABAD: Rajya Sabha MP and National BC Welfare Association President R. Krishnaiah has demanded that local body elections in Telangana be held only after increasing the Backward Classes (BC) reservations to 42 percent. He warned the Congress government and Chief Minister Revanth Reddy of a state-wide agitation if the demand is not met.
Speaking at a meeting organised by the BC Welfare Association’s state unit at the Bashirbagh Press Club, presided over by state working president Neel Venkatesh, Krishnaiah alleged that the Congress government was conspiring to once again sacrifice the interests of BC communities.
He stated that the local elections, which were due over a year ago, had been delayed precisely due to the issue of BC reservations. Criticising Minister Seethakka’s recent remarks that elections would be conducted soon, Krishnaiah called the announcement outrageous, given that the reservation issue remained unresolved.
He accused the government of deliberately attempting to deceive BCs. If elections are held without enhancing BC quotas, he warned, it would trigger a “war-like” situation in the state. He also declared his intention to undertake a hunger strike with a thousand supporters and said ministers and MLAs would not be allowed to enter villages.
Krishnaiah questioned the Congress government on why no Government Order (GO) had been issued despite passing a law in the Assembly to increase BC reservations from 20 percent to 42 percent. He criticised the claim that the matter was sent to the Centre, pointing out that, constitutionally, states have the authority to decide on reservations in local bodies.
He called out Chief Minister Revanth Reddy for trying to shift responsibility to the Centre, accusing him of betraying BCs. He demanded that the state immediately issue a GO implementing the 42 percent reservation before conducting any local elections, warning that failure to do so would lead to an uprising by BCs against the Congress government’s alleged deception.
