Hyderabad: Telangana PCC chief Mahesh Kumar Goud accused the BJP of reneging on its stance over BC reservations, calling it a political U-turn. He alleged that comments by state BJP president Ramchander Rao signalled the party’s opposition to the proposed reservation legislation.
Goud said the BJP’s contradictory positions supporting BC reservation bills in the Telangana Assembly but adopting a different line at the national level exposed its double standards. Speaking to reporters in Delhi after meeting AICC leaders, Goud said the Congress had briefed the party high command on the status of caste census and reservation legislation in Telangana.
He claimed the previous BRS government had slashed BC quotas from 33% to 22%, calling it a betrayal. Now, the BJP, he said, was obstructing legislation aimed at restoring and strengthening those quotas.
Goud added that Telangana had done its part by passing two bills and sending them to the Centre, where they remain pending. He urged the Union government to clear the proposals and vowed that Congress would escalate the issue nationally if there was no movement.
He said the Congress had requested the Centre to lift the Supreme Court-mandated reservation cap through legislative intervention in Parliament. A PowerPoint presentation on the caste census and reservation bills will be given to INDIA bloc MPs this evening, he added.
If the BJP-led Centre refuses to approve the Telangana bills, the Congress will launch a nationwide agitation under Rahul Gandhi’s leadership, Goud warned.