Hyderabad: As the Telangana government delays implementing 42 per cent BC reservation in local bodies, community leaders accuse it of shifting blame to the Centre and watering down a Constitutional provision into a party-level offer.At a meeting of 18 BC organisations on Sunday, members unanimously rejected the state government’s proposal to extend reservations “on a party basis” instead of formalising them through law. They warned that any move to reduce the demand into political tokenism would face strong resistance.To push their demand, the 18 organisations will stage a satyagraha protest on August 25 at 10 am. “Reservations should not be at the mercy of parties. They must be granted legally, backed by the Constitution, or else they’ll collapse in court or be diluted in practice,” said R. Krishnaiah, the president of the National BC Welfare Association.The groups questioned the delay of over eight months despite a clear route being available, passing a Bill in the Assembly, securing the Governor’s assent, issuing a GO and proceeding with elections. They argued that the Bihar, Jharkhand and Tamil Nadu models proved this was not only possible but also constitutional.“The government keeps citing court blocks and constitutional complications. But those are excuses. Empirical data is already available. A Bill has already been passed. If they are serious, they can go to the Supreme Court with a mandamus petition and win,” said OU BC Students’ Union president Nikhil Patel.Participants also dismissed recent Cabinet-level arguments about putting the issue under the 9th Schedule of the Constitution or blaming the Centre. “It’s a diversion. The power to conduct local body elections and decide BC quotas lies with the state. The Congress made the Kamareddy Declaration promising 42 per cent and the onus is on them,” said Vemula Ramakrishna of the Telangana BC Students’ Union.They also pointed out that during the EWS and 10 per cent reservation verdicts, the 50 per cent ceiling had already been lifted by the Supreme Court. “There is no constitutional roadblock anymore. This is just a political delay,” said BC Political JAC leader Raju.
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