Hyderabad, Oct 17 — Telangana’s Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka told state BJP leaders this Friday that they must arrange meetings with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Droupadi Murmu. The goal is to secure approval for two pending bills that would raise the reservation of Backward Classes (BCs) to 42 % in education, jobs and local bodies.
“At a press conference in Khammam, I asked Union Ministers G. Kishan Reddy and Bandi Sanjay Kumar, and BJP state president N. Ramachander Rao, to step forward and set up these appointments,” Vikramarka said. “If the BJP can get a slot, the Telangana government—including Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy—will be ready to travel to Delhi.”
The Deputy CM accused the central BJP government of blocking the 42 % BC quota. “Why is the BJP stalling our bills in Parliament?” he asked. He reminded reporters that his ruling Congress party had already passed the bills in the state assembly after a comprehensive survey. They were sent to the Governor and then to the Centre for the President’s assent.
Vikramarka recalled repeated written requests to the Centre for an all‑party delegation to meet the President and PM, but these were ignored. He also highlighted that CM Revanth Reddy had led a sit‑in in New Delhi demanding the bills’ approval. “We invited all parties to join a Dhara in Delhi, but the BJP did not support it,” he added.
The Congress also presented a new bill to lift the 50 % cap on overall reservation in local bodies—a policy that the previous BRS government had imposed in 2018. While the Supreme Court declined to intervene in a Telangana High Court order that had stayed a government order on the BC reservation hike, the government plans to study the court’s judgment with legal experts.
A bench led by Justice Vikram Nath and Justice Sandeep Mehta decided not to stay the interim order, noting that it could not overturn the 50 % ceiling set by earlier constitutional rulings. The court also clarified that local body elections could proceed without the proposed increase in BC quotas.
The Telangana cabinet will discuss next steps on Oct 23, Vikramarka said. The ongoing negotiations underline the state’s push to expand BC welfare and the central government’s cautious stance on reservation reforms.
Source: ianslive
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