Hyderabad, Aug 10 (NationPress) The Congress party in Telangana is devising a plan to highlight the 42 percent reservation for backward classes during the upcoming local body elections, anticipated next month.

With the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre effectively dismissing the approval of Telangana Bills aimed at enhancing the reservation for Backward Classes (BCs) to 42 percent, the Congress has no alternative but to allocate 42 percent tickets to BC candidates in the gram panchayat elections.

The recent three-day protest in Delhi, led by Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy, was a part of Congress' strategy to pressurize the Centre.

Through the dharna at Jantar Mantar, which saw participation from the entire Cabinet, MPs, and state legislators, Congress aimed to showcase its commitment to fulfilling its electoral promise of 42 percent reservation for BCs in education, employment, and local bodies.

Revanth Reddy also utilized the platform to criticize Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah for their failure to secure a meeting with President Droupadi Murmu.

The Congress delegation had sought an appointment with the President to urge her to approve two Bills passed by the state legislature in March.

The Telangana Backward Classes, Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Reservation of Seats in Educational Institutions and of Appointments or Posts in Services under the State) Bill 2025 and The Telangana Backward Classes (Reservation of Seats in Rural and Urban Local Bodies) Bill 2025 were both approved by the Assembly.

These Bills aimed to increase reservations for BCs from the current 25 percent in education and employment and 23 percent in local bodies, a key promise made by Congress in their 'BC declaration' during the 2023 Assembly elections.

As the increased BC quota will surpass the 50 percent limit set by the Supreme Court, the state Governor forwarded the Bills to the President for her approval.

With no response regarding the Presidential assent, the State Cabinet decided last month to issue an ordinance to amend the Telangana Panchayat Raj Act 2018 to enable 42 percent reservation for BCs in local bodies.

The draft ordinance submitted to the Governor is also pending approval from the Centre.

This amendment seeks to allow reservations to exceed the 50 percent cap currently enforced. This initiative is backed by a recent caste census and a report from the dedicated BC Commission.

The caste census indicated that BCs make up 56.33 percent of the population (including 10 percent BC Muslims). Backward groups among Muslims currently receive 4 percent reservations in education and employment, categorized as BC (E).

The Congress party is attempting to leverage the situation by accusing the BJP of obstructing the Bills and ordinance. The ruling party is also targeting the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) for ridiculing their protest in Delhi rather than questioning the BJP.

Chief Minister Revanth Reddy and other Congress leaders are also reminding the public that it was the previous BRS government that reduced the BC reservation in local bodies to keep the overall quota under the 50 percent limit.

State BJP leaders have questioned the Congress party's dedication to BC reservation, claiming the ruling party is prioritizing reservations for Muslims at the expense of BCs.

Central ministers G. Kishan Reddy and Bandi Sanjay have called for the removal of Muslims from the BC list.

Union Minister of State for Home Affairs, Bandi Sanjay, alleged that the Congress government is conspiring to increase BC reservation by merely 5 percent and allocate 10 percent of BC reservation to Muslims.

"The Centre will approve the Bills if the entire 42 percent reservation is granted to BCs," stated Bandi Sanjay.

Congress leaders have countered the BJP by asserting that the latter is attempting to hinder BC reservation under the pretext of Muslims.

"The BJP leaders are misleading the public by distorting facts. Backward sections among Muslims already have 4 percent reservation. Their quota will only increase by 1.8 percent. Hindu BCs, currently benefiting from 25 percent reservation, will receive an additional 11.2 percent, raising their total quota to 36.2 percent," explained senior Congress leader and former minister T. Jeevan Reddy.

Jeevan Reddy asserted that backward Muslims are enjoying the benefits of reservation even in states governed by the BJP and its allies. The Congress leaders have challenged the BJP to abolish that reservation first.

In June, the Telangana High Court mandated the state government to conduct local body elections within three months. The government was instructed to finalize reservations for various categories by the end of July.

Former sarpanches had lodged petitions, urging the government not to postpone the elections any further. They emphasized that the terms of the panchayats expired on January 31, 2024, and the elections have already been delayed by 18 months.

The petitioners argued that local body elections must occur within six months of the expiration of the elected body’s term, as mandated by the Constitution.

Chief Minister Revanth Reddy acknowledged that the state government cannot further postpone the elections, as the Centre will withhold funds to local bodies, jeopardizing rural governance.

While proceeding with the elections, the Congress party aims to hold both BJP and BRS accountable for the BC reservation issue.