42 pc quota row: BC leaders to siege Assembly tomorrow

Hyderabad/Gadwal: Leadersof Backward Classes (BC) organisations and opposition parties announced a State-wide agitation, warning that they will not relent until the Telangana government implements 42 per cent reservations for BCs. As part of the protest, they declared that the State Assembly will be laid siege on December 29.

The announcement was made at a state-level extended meeting of BC leaders in Hyderabad on Saturday, under the leadership of Telangana State BC Welfare Association President Erra Satyanarayana. BC leaders from various districts, including Jogulamba Gadwal, participated in the meeting in large numbers.

Addressing the gathering, BRS senior leader Nagar Doddi Venkatramulu stated that the BC community has been repeatedly deceived by the ruling government despite several promises. He alleged that the Congress government, led by Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy, had announced 42 per cent reservations for BCs during elections but failed to implement them after coming to power. He said BCs would not “leave the Chief Minister alone” until the promised reservations are implemented in letter and spirit.

BRSV State Leader and Jogulamba Gadwal District Coordinator Kuruva Pallaiah, along with Awaz State Vice President Atheekur Rahman, criticised the government for what they described as a deliberate conspiracy to deny BCs their rightful share. They alleged that the government knowingly announced 42 per cent reservations in local body elections and later allowed them to be struck down by courts, calling it a planned move that primarily benefited upper castes.

The speakers accused the government of ignoring the Kamareddy BC Declaration, which had included several assurances for BC welfare. They argued that if the government genuinely intended to uplift BCs, it could have implemented reservations in several areas that do not fall under judicial scrutiny, such as contracts in corporations, appointments to boards, and other administrative positions. Instead, they alleged, the government was making verbal promises while mocking BC aspirations in practice.

BC leaders further alleged that the Chief Minister had allocated key posts and positions predominantly to upper castes, urging BC communities to take note of what they termed a lack of sincerity. They also accused the government of attempting to repeat the strategy used during village sarpanch elections by conducting Mandal, Municipal, and Corporation elections without implementing BC reservations, under the pretext of holding discussions in the Assembly.

Prominent leaders who participated in the meeting included former Assembly Speaker Madhusudhanachari, former Minister Gangula Kamalakar, former Governor Bandaru Dattatreya, and others.