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The Hindu
4 days ago
- Politics
- The Hindu
Telangana Congress' dharna begins in Delhi for 42% BC quota in education, employment and local body polls
Raising the pitch in support of the Telangana's demand for passage of bills aimed at enhancing reservation to Backward Classes (BC) to 42%, top Congress leaders led by Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy sat on a day long dharna in New Delhi on Wednesday (August 6, 2025), to make the State's voice heard in the national political corridors. The Congress leaders were seeking audience of President Droupadi Murmu to request her to give her assent to the two bills — one providing 42% quota for BCs in education and employment and the other providing the same quota in local bodies. Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka, Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) president B. Mahesh Kumar Goud, BC Welfare Minister Ponnam Prabhakar, Agriculture Minister Tummala Nageshwara Rao, the party MPs, senior national leaders of the party and others participated in the dharna being held with the motto 'one voice, one vision, united BC'. Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi is expected to take part. The party leader Digvijay Singh spoke about the Socio, Caste, Economic, Employment and Political survey (Caste Survey) conducted in Telangana.
Time of India
24-07-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
'Social Justice 2.0': Mallikarjun Kharge's photo 'blocks' Ambedkar portrait at Congress's meet; BJP calls it 'hypocrisy'
NEW DELHI: Congress party's "Social Justice 2.0" meeting attracted attention for all the wrong reasons after pictures from a party meet showed BR Ambedkar's portrait being pushed aside to make way for Mallikarjun Kharge 's photograph. The meeting, ironically, was held to discuss the issues faced by SC, ST and OBC communities, and was attended by top party leaders, including Rahul Gandhi, Kharge, KC Venugopal and Revanth Reddy. The Bharatiya Janata Party was quick to call out the "hypocrisy" with its IT chief Amit Malviya saying, "Congress never misses a chance to preach about social justice, but their actions speak otherwise. Just look at how Baba Saheb Ambedkar's photo has been pushed to the corner and overshadowed, while Mallikarjun Kharge's picture takes centre stage. So much for respecting icons of social empowerment. Hypocrisy has truly become Congress's second nature. " Congress, which gave the war cry of "Save the Constitution" and has always advocated for a caste-based census, is yet to comment on the matter. The pictures of the meeting were also shared by the leader of opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge, who termed it "Congress party's Social Justice 2.0". "Congress party's Social Justice 2.0 —a new movement for social justice, equity and empowerment of the weaker sections has begun in Telangana. Our unwavering fight, spearheaded by Shri @RahulGandhi for justice is giving voice to the millions from SC, ST, OBC, EWS communities who have been sidelined for decades. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Swelling and internal bleeding in the brain, help this baby Donate For Health Donate Now Undo Despite forming a vast majority of India's population, these communities are glaringly absent from top corporate boards, the judiciary, bureaucracy, and premier institutions," Kharge's X post said. "Our demand was to conduct a nationwide Caste Census and remove the arbitrary 50% cap on reservations. This Govt has accepted to conduct the Caste Survey under huge public pressure, but without removing the cap. But the scientific manner in which Telangana has conducted its survey must be a role model for the entire nation. Based on this groundbreaking socio-economic survey, our Government in Telangana has recommended 42% reservations for OBCs in local body elections and educational institutions. This significant bill is currently awaiting the assent of the Hon'ble President of India," it added.
The Hindu
10-07-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
Cabinet approves 42% reservation for BCs in local bodies polls
Fulfilling a long-pending demand and its pre-poll promise, the Congress government made a historic step towards social justice approving 42% reservations for Backward Classes (BCs) in upcoming local body elections. The Telangana Cabinet, chaired by Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy, approved the decision after a marathon five-hour meeting, on Thursday. The Advocate-General was specially invited to the Cabinet to advise on legal implications surrounding the increased quota. Confident in its legal position, the Cabinet approved going ahead with the elections under the new reservation framework, said Revenue and I&PR Minister Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy and BC Welfare Minister Ponnam Prabhakar while briefing the newspersons at the Secretariat. Ministers Jupally Krishna Rao, Adluri Laxman and Srihari Mudhiraj were also present. Mr. Ponnam Prabhakar said the decision comes in the backdrop of the Kamareddy BC Declaration made on February 4, 2024, and follows up on the government's earlier commitment, reiterated by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi during the Bharat Jodo Yatra, to enhance BC representation. He said various judgments on the increase in reservations were positive as long as they were increased after a scientific study with empirical data. The move is based on the findings of the Caste Survey, for which a Bill was introduced in the Assembly and forwarded to the Centre. Despite delays from the Union government, which raised multiple queries, the Telangana government stood firm, with both the Chief Minister and BC Welfare Minister actively pursuing the matter in New Delhi, Mr. Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy said. He said the Cabinet also addressed the High Court's directive to complete local body elections within three months. Accordingly, an amendment to the Panchayat Raj Act, 2018 would be made to facilitate the enhanced reservations. One lakh jobs Mr. Prabhakar said the recruitment process for another 17,084 jobs is in various stages, and the Cabinet discussed to issue notifications for 22,033 new jobs to take the total recruitment to one lakh jobs before March next. The government has already filled 60,000 jobs. In another key decision, the Cabinet approved the establishment of Amity University and St. Mary Rehabilitation University as private universities, with 50% reservation for local students. St. Mary's University will focus on skill development programmes, positioning itself as a non-conventional university. Mr. Srinivas Reddy said the 19th Cabinet held on Thursday discussed the 327 issues across 18 meetings, with 321 of them ratified. Of these, 96% have already reached the implementation stage, and the Chief Minister issued firm directives to expedite the remaining decisions. He said a quarterly review mechanism will also be instituted to evaluate the progress of decisions taken in the meetings in that quarter. Agricultural projects The Cabinet also reviewed incomplete irrigation projects where 98% expenditure has been incurred but no irrigation benefits have been realised. The government decided to fast-track land acquisition and complete these projects at the earliest. Irrigation Minister Uttam Kumar Reddy presented a detailed report on the same. Animal Husbandry Minister Srihari Mudiraj said a new policy for Goshalas would be developed soon, and the meeting discussed the current conditions in the approximately 300 Goshalas across the State. A modern Goshala will be developed at Yadagirigutta as a model facility. In addition, the government will release 82 crore fishlings to support the rural economy and fisheries sector.
Indian Express
07-07-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
BBMP suspends 10 civic officials after QR-coded caste census stickers found on bikes, tea stalls
The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) Monday suspended 10 civic officials for purported negligence in conducting the caste census ordered by the state government. The exercise to collect information regarding members of 101 communities falling under the Scheduled Caste category has been mired in controversy since it was launched in Bengaluru on June 23. Several citizens have alleged that QR-coded stickers marking Scheduled Caste (SC) households have been pasted on buildings, vehicles, and even tea stalls in a random manner. In 2015, the Congress government spent ₹170 Cr on a caste census in Karnataka, then blamed dogs for its flaws. Now in Bengaluru, BBMP is pasting caste stickers without collecting any data. From dogs to data-less drama, Congress's idea of social justice is a comedy of errors. — P C Mohan (@PCMohanMP) July 3, 2025 Suralkar Vikas Kishore, Special Commissioner (Welfare), BBMP, admitted to gaps in carrying out the census. He, however, said, 'If the sticker is pasted on a non-SC house, they can just ignore it and if the house occupants belong to the SC community, then they can call the helpline number, and the field officers will visit them. Or they can participate in the survey online by using the QR-coded sticker.' 'We have suspended 10 officials for their shoddy work, and we will initiate action against them. But these stickers don't indicate that the survey is completed,' he added. Meanwhile, several Bengaluru residents flagged issues relating to the survey on social media. 'Please let me know the caste of HONDA ACTIVA!' one social media user sarcastically posted on X after he spotted the sticker on his two-wheeler. In another case, BBMP officials allegedly tried to paste the QR-coded sticker on a building in Chikkalasandra without speaking to the residents. Shashank, son of the house owner, said, 'We were inside the house when they (BBMP officials) arrived. They did not ask for any details and failed to show their ID cards. When we told them that they could not paste the sticker without collecting the details, the BBMP officials assaulted us. We went to the Subramanyapura police station to file a complaint. The civic officials, thereafter, apologised to us, so we returned without filing a complaint.' Medha S, a resident of Puttenahalli, said, 'These people are pasting the stickers like how product sales executives throw pamphlets inside houses. They are doing this despite knowing that there are occupants in the house.' Reacting to the controversy, Karnataka BJP president B Y Vijayendra said on X, 'The so-called Caste Survey is nothing more than a hollow spectacle, orchestrated by CM Siddaramaiah with no real political will to implement it meaningfully. This exercise – born out of the Congress government's continued apathy towards internal reservation – has now become a subject of public mockery. Media reports and citizen accounts point to a farcical execution, where enumerators merely paste stickers and leave without any genuine engagement with residents.' 'Let's not forget: the Kantharaj Commission report was submitted in 2015. Yet, during his full five-year term as Chief Minister, Siddaramaiah chose not to act on it. CM Siddaramaiah must stop misleading marginalised communities with half-hearted theatrics. The people of Karnataka don't need empty promises – they deserve results,' he added. The BBMP has claimed that it has till now identified over 6.7 lakh SC individuals after covering more than 1.8 lakh SC households in the city.
United News of India
09-06-2025
- Politics
- United News of India
TPCC Chief, Min Ponnam meet MLA Malreddy Reddy; address concerns over cabinet expansion
Hyderabad, June 9 (UNI) Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) President and MLC Mahesh Kumar Goud, along with Transport and BC Welfare Minister Ponnam Prabhakar, met senior Congress leader and Ibrahimpatnam MLA Malreddy Ranga Reddy at his residence on Monday to discuss concerns related to the recent cabinet expansion. Mahesh Kumar Goud emphasised that the cabinet expansion was carried out with due consideration to caste balance. He pointed out that two ministerial berths were allotted to members of the Scheduled Castes (SC) and one to the Backward Classes (BC) category, in line with the findings of the Caste Survey and ongoing demands for SC classification. He acknowledged MLA Ranga Reddy's expectations regarding a Ministerial position and said the matter has been brought to the notice of AICC in-charge Meenakshi Natarajan and Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy. Goud further assured that Ranga Reddy district will be given due importance in the days ahead, and noted that three cabinet positions are still vacant, indicating possible future inclusions. UNI VV ARN
