Hyderabad: A delegation of Telangana ministers, legislators, and party leaders met Governor Jishnu Dev Varma at Raj Bhavan on Monday. They urged him to approve the bill that raises Backward Class (BC) reservations in local bodies to 42 percent.
Leaders press for BC bill approval
The delegation included PCC chief Mahesh Kumar Goud, Minister Seethakka, Government Whips Aadi Srinivas and Birla Ilaiah, BRS MLA KP Vivekananda Goud, CPI leader K. Narayana, and MLC Nellikanti Satyam. They submitted a memorandum seeking the Governor’s assent to the Panchayat Raj Amendment Bill. The Assembly had cleared the bill unanimously after scrapping the 50 percent ceiling on BC quotas in local bodies.
Minister slams BRS over obstruction
Earlier, Minister Ponnam Prabhakar accused the BRS of blocking debates on BC welfare. He called the party “feudal in nature” and alleged it had consistently ignored backward communities. He said the BRS was now conspiring to derail the 42 percent reservation bill.
Prabhakar also asked why BRS leaders boycotted the caste census. He accused them of making “double-edged” statements and warned that stalling the BC bill was undemocratic. “The people are watching the BRS’s stance very closely,” he said.
The Minister insisted that the Congress government was committed to empowering backward classes. He said any move to obstruct the bill would amount to a betrayal of democratic values.