Hyderabad (Telangana) [India], November 27 : Telangana Minister Ponnam Prabhakar on Thursday reaffirmed the government's commitment to implementing 42% reservation for Backward Classes (BCs).
Speaking with ANI, he criticised the BJP for politicising the issue, stating that the Congress party has been a champion for BC rights, citing Rahul Gandhi's advocacy.
Prabhakar emphasised that the government's efforts to achieve 42% reservation remain unchanged, despite opposition criticism. He accused the BJP of making politically motivated comments on the issue, rather than genuinely supporting BC welfare.
"We are still on the same path to implement 42% reservation... We worked so hard to achieve 42% reservation, and what can we do? They are just trying to politicise it. If there is any leader in the country who speaks about BCs, it is Rahul Gandhi. Today, you have no right to question the Congress Party... The criticism being levelled by the BJP today is purely political criticism. They are not doing this out of love for the BCs," Prabhakar told ANI.
Earlier, former MLC and Telangana Jagruthi President K Kavitha asked the eight BJP MPs from Telangana to resign to secure the Governor and President's assent for the 42 per cent BC reservation in local body polls. Speaking to ANI, she held the BJP responsible for the delay in implementing the reservation.
Kavitha said, "The BJP is responsible for this. The bill for the BC reservation has been passed in the Assembly and is pending with the Governor. It is pending with the President of India. It will be passed in both these places when the BJP takes a political decision."
She added, "Today, the BJP is running a minority government at the Centre. It is dependent on Chandrababu Naidu and Nitish Kumar. Therefore, I am demanding that if all our Telangana BJP MPs resign and come to Telangana, the BC Bill will automatically come to Telangana. These eight BJP MPs should resign immediately."
Last month, the Telangana government ordered 42 per cent reservation of seats and positions in local bodies for Backwards Classes, as per a statement issued by the Chief Minister's Office.
However, the Bill sparked a political row in the state. In August, Chief Minister Revanth Reddy visited New Delhi seeking the President's assent. On October 16, the Supreme Court dismissed the state government's plea challenging the Telangana High Court's stay on the 42 per cent BC reservation in local body elections, dealing a setback to the Congress government.
The High Court had granted an interim stay on the notification for local body elections and allowed petitions challenging the state's order. The court directed the petitioner to file a counter-affidavit within four weeks, while giving the government two weeks to respond.