File review petition in Supreme Court to ensure higher reservation for BCs, Telangana govt. urged

Backward Classes intellectuals demand 42% reservation in local bodies, warn of legal action if promise not fulfilled.

Speakers at a conference of Backward Classes (BC) intellectuals here on Friday (January 17) demanded that the State government file a review petition in the Supreme Court to ensure 42% reservation for BCs in local bodies, as promised in the Kamareddy BC Declaration.

Rajya Sabha member and president of the National BC Welfare Association R. Krishnaiah said the movement would intensify in stages until the political representation of BCs in local body elections was achieved. If the government failed to fulfil its promise, he warned, BCs’ rights would be secured through relentless efforts.

The meeting emphasised presenting their arguments before a larger Bench of the court to secure the increase in reservations. The conference urged the government to use the social and economic caste survey data and pursue legal action to ensure justice for BCs.

Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Council S. Madhusudana Chari emphasised that it was the government’s responsibility in a democracy to provide benefits to all sections in proportion to their numbers.

Former BC Commission chairman Vakulabharanam Krishna Mohan Rao highlighted the need for sub-categorisation of BCs in local body elections as promised by the government. With the quantitative data from the caste survey now available, he urged the government to fight a legal battle in the Supreme Court to ensure benefits for BCs in the State.