Telangana: Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) leader K Kavitha announced on Tuesday that the party will be holding a ‘rail roko’ protest to put pressure on the Central government for approving reservation of 42 per cent for the Backwards classes in Telangana.
The Congress party formed a government in Telangana because they promised to give 42% reservation to BCs of Telangana. Unfortunately, even after 18 months, it is not a reality…. To exert pressure on the Union and the state government, people of Telangana, OBCs of Telangana and Telangana Jagruthi are organising a rail roko on July 17,” the BRS leader told ANI here.
Earlier in March, the Congress-led Telangana government had passed two bills, 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. Both the bills aim to give 42 per cent reservation to Backwards Classes, 15 pc to Scheduled Castes, and 10 pc to Scheduled Tribes in various educational institutions, local bodies, and in government jobs.
The bills have been passed in both the Telangana Assembly and the Legislative Council, and is awaiting approval from the Centre.
“All of us are fighting on the ground, and as a result, we could pass the bill in the Assembly and the Council. Now that bill is pending with the Union government. We hope the Union government will respond positively and return the bill,” she said.
Earlier in March, just a day after the bills were passed, Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy said that the “revolutionary” promise of 42 per cent reservation would not only break the limit of 49 per cent reservation but also empower long-oppressed communities.
CM Reddy said in a post on X, “The revolutionary promise of 42 per cent reservations for Backward Castes not only finally hopes to end the legal glass-ceiling of 49% on quotas but also moves towards empowering the long-oppressed communities’ resources & opportunities in proportion to their percentage in the population.”