HYDERABAD: The budget session of the State Legislative Assembly which was adjourned sine die on Monday will resume within five days to pass Bills relating to providing 12 per cent reservations to Muslims and Tribals.
“The Assembly session will be conducted within five days again. We have to pass the Bills relating to Muslims and STs. Later, we will meet Prime Minister and Supreme Court chief justice seeking stretching of total reservations in the state beyond the cap of 50 per cent,” CM K Chandrasekhar Rao said in State Legislative Assembly on Monday.
Replying to a debate on the Appropriation Bill, 2017, Rao said the BC population in Jharkhand is around 65 per cent while in Telangana it is 90 per cent. Tamil Nadu too had over 50 per cent reservations. “States having more weaker section should not have a cap on reservations,” he said.
Rao said there was a demand for increasing reservations for SCs by one per cent and it would be considered. He added that the state government would soon issue Terms of Reference to BC Commission for identifying the Most Backward Classes.
He also announced Aasara pensions to another 81,000 beedi workers who were earlier not included in the list. “Now all the beedi workers having PF cards will get social security pension,” he announced.
On Opposition’s allegation that budget figures were inflated for getting loans, he said the state was following a mixed economy, balancing both welfare and development. “If the state has borrowing capacity and did not borrow money for development works it amounts to crime,” the CM said.
Responding to TPCC chief N Uttam Kumar Reddy that the state was ranked sixth in attracting investments, Rao said: “It is a good suggestion. We will try to get number one rank even in attracting investments like we got first rank in Ease of Doing Business.”