Hate speech Bill gets TG Cabinet approval
- Some other key bills also get the nod
- Decides to speed up Metro Rail takeover
Hyderabad: The state Cabinet has taken crucial decisions relating to the enactment of “Telangana Hate Speech and Hate Crime Prevention Bill, 2026” and the “Parents' Support Bill”; constitution of a Cabinet Sub-committee for Rohit Vemula Act and the expeditious takeover of Hyderabad Metro Rail from L&T company.
At a meeting chaired by Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy, the Cabinet approved the Hate Speech and Hate Crimes (Prevention) Bill, which seeks to curb posts that disrupt communal harmony as well as speeches that incite riots and conflicts.
The Parents Support Bill provides for the deduction of 15 per cent of the salary, or Rs. 10,000, whichever is lower, from the wages of public representatives as well as government and private employees who fail to care for their elderly parents. This deducted amount will be handed over to the neglected parents.
The Cabinet Sub-Committee headed by Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka will formulate the modalities for implementing the 'Rohith Vemula Act,' which is aimed at curbing caste-based discrimination in educational institutions. The members of this Cabinet Sub-committee include Ministers Damodar Raja Narasimha, Duddilla Sridhar Babu, Uttam Kumar Reddy and Ponnam Prabhakar.
In a move to provide protection to gig workers, the government also approved Telangana Platform-Based Gig Workers (Registration, Social Security, and Welfare) Act, 2026 with minor modifications to align it with the Code on Social Security recently introduced by the Union government.
Reviewing the functioning of the Metro Rail , the Cabinet decided to expedite the process of taking over the existing 69-kilometer Metro Rail network in Hyderabad from L&T. A Sub-Committee has already submitted a report stating that the government would need to pay L&T a total of Rs 15,000 crore - including the outstanding debt burden - in order to take over Phase 1 of the project.
Hyderabad Metro Rail Limited (HMRL) has been entrusted with the responsibility of handling these payments and transactions on its behalf. The Cabinet has accorded its approval for designating HMRL as the nodal agency for this purpose.
The Telangana Advocates Protection Bill was also approved. The Bill will curb incidents of attacks on lawyers and provide them with necessary protection. In the wake of past incidents - specifically the murder of lawyer couple, Vaman Rao and Nagamani - the Cabinet decided to ensure the provision of protection and adequate security for lawyers. The report submitted by the Independent Committee of Experts, which was appointed by the state government to study the Caste Census undertaken within the state, was also ratified.
This report was prepared by the Committee of Experts led by Justice Sudarshan Reddy, Chairman of the Independent Expert Working Group.
