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8 hours ago
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Congress MLAs and MPs from Telangana are set to leave for Delhi to meet President Draupadi Murmu to demand the passing of two Bills that provide for 42% reservation for Backward Classes in the state.
The Bills were passed in March in the state Assembly and were sent to Telangana Governor Jishnu Dev Varma for his assent. Varma then sent the Bills to the President for assent on March 30 this year.
The decision was taken after a five-hour Cabinet meeting. Briefing the media after the Cabinet meeting, minister Ponnam Prabhakar said, “On August 5, 6 and 7, under the leadership of Chief Minister Revanth Reddy, a delegation of Congress MLAs and MPs and other Opposition leaders in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha will seek appointment with the President.”
The Bills provide for 42% reservation for BCs in education, employment and local body polls. Telangana, as per a High Court order, has to conduct its civic polls by August 30. “As we have to conduct the local body polls by August 30, we have to get the President’s assent for the Bills soon,” Prabhakar said.
He said that the Bills cannot be struck down for breaching the 50% reservation cap. “When there is empirical data for the population of BCs, reservation should be based on this population data. Already, the 50% cap is breached with EWS quota,” Prabhakar said, adding that Congress stands for social justice.
Telangana’s caste survey had revealed that the population of BCs is at 56.3% in the state. “We have empirical data to prove that there is a need to breach the reservation cap,” Prabhakar said. He also said that Telangana’s caste census should set an example for other states in the country.
Prabhakar, who himself is a BC leader, also said that BC leaders from the state, including those from the BJP, should support this effort to get the President’s assent for the Bills.
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