Telangana CM leads protest in Delhi for Prez nod to state backward classes quota bills

     New Delhi, Aug 6 (PTI) Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy on Wednesday led a protest at the Jantar Mantar here to demand Presidential assent for the Backward Classes reservation bills and alleged that the BJP-led central government was stalling the bills passed by the state legislature as it was "anti-OBC".
     The Telangana Assembly passed the two bills in March to enhance reservation for other backward classes (OBC) to 42 per cent in education, employment and local bodies. The bills were forwarded to the governor and are currently awaiting Presidential assent.
     DMK MP Kanimozhi, NCP (SP) leader Supriya Sule, Dharmendra Yadav of the Samajwadi Party and V Sivadasan of CPI (M) were among those present during the protest.
     Thanking the INDIA bloc leaders for their support, Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi said in a post on X that the proposed law is a major advance towards the Constitution’s vision of social justice, grounded in data from the caste census, and asserted that the "fight" is not just for Telangana.
     “The Telangana Government and Congress sat on a dharna in Delhi today, demanding that the President assent to the law reserving 42 per cent for backward classes in education, employment and local government," the former Congress president said.
     "I am grateful to INDIA leaders who voiced their support, and hope the Hon’ble President will take note and assent. This fight is not just for Telangana. It is a collective fight to ensure that Indians from marginalised communities have their rightful share in power and progress,” he said.
     Echoing similar sentiments, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said the Telangana government's step will strengthen social justice.
     "The Modi Government’s slogan of ‘Sabka Sath, Sabka Vikas’ is hollow because it is bent on building a wall between this Bill and the rights of the deprived," he said in a post on X in Hindi.
     Scores of Congress workers from Telangana participated in the protest and raised slogans of 'Congress ki Jai' and 'Telangana ki Jai'. Posters of 'Jai Telangana', 'Jai Bhim' and 'Jai Backward Classes' had been put up at the venue.
     Reddy told reporters that the caste census was duly approved by the state cabinet, the assembly and the people, and questioned how the Centre could undermine the decision of an elected state government.
     Later, while addressing the gathering, he said the government has passed the bills to deliver justice to the backward classes, but they remain stalled without the President's assent.
     "This delay forced us to launch the ‘Chalo Delhi’ movement,” he said.
     Accusing the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) of being "silent" on the issue, Reddy asked, “Why are they not standing by their OBC brothers?”
     He claimed that the BJP-led Centre was blocking the state’s move to implement 42 per cent reservation for OBCs, and asserted that the caste census conducted in Telangana has become a model for the country.
     Reddy said leaders from several states, including Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra, had joined the protest.
     “By coming to Delhi, we have garnered national support for our demand,” he added.
     The CM also referred to RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat’s statement that leaders who turn 75 should step down, noting that the prime minister will reach that age on September 17. “Let him sit on the throne till 2029, we are not asking him to step down now. After the 2029 Lok Sabha elections, Rahul Gandhi will be the prime minister,” he said.
     Union Minister and Telangana BJP leader Bandi Sanjay Kumar slammed Chief Minister Reddy for the protest and accused the Congress government in the state of pushing reservation for all Muslims in the name of enhanced quota for backward classes.
     Kumar termed religious-based reservations as a "poisonous tree" which will spread across the country if "it is not uprooted in Telangana".
     Accusing the Congress of shedding crocodile tears for backward classes (BC), he demanded the entire 42 per cent reservations exclusively for backward classes. "Otherwise, we will block the bill at all costs," he said.
     Expressing solidarity with the Congress on the issue, NCP (SP) leader Supriya Sule said, “The reservation demanded by Telangana is justified. We stand with you until it is secured. This country is governed by the Constitution, not by arbitrary authority.”
     DMK MP Kanimozhi Karunanidhi praised the Telangana government for taking up the cause of OBC reservations.
     Bomma Mahesh Kumar Goud, president of the Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee, said, "The mission of ‘jiski jitni aabadi, uski utni bhagedari’ has gained momentum under Revanth Reddy. We have come to Delhi so that the prime minister hears our voice.”
     Congress leader from Telangana Vijayashanti said they have been fighting for the rights of the backward classes for years.
     "This is the second time we are holding such an event. We are demanding 42 per cent reservation for the backward classes,” she said.
     Purnea MP Rajesh Ranjan, popularly known as Pappu Yadav, said if a revolution begins in this country, "it always starts from the South, and Punjab and Bengal support it".
     “If there is anyone who truly has the courage to be the voice of the last person in line, it is Rahul Gandhi. He is a Brahmin, if he wanted the Prime Minister’s chair, he could have taken it after Dr Manmohan Singh. But instead, he chose to walk across the country. No one else has the courage to do what he has done,” the MP said while calling Revanth Reddy a "Tiger leader".

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)