HYDERABAD: BRS working president KT Rama Rao on Tuesday came down heavily on the state government for failing to introduce a Bill to increase reservations for Backward Classes (BCs) and labelling it as “historic,” without taking concrete legislative action.
Accusing the Congress government of betraying the BC community, the BRS members staged a walkout from the Assembly. Rama Rao claimed that the government’s recent survey had reduced the BC population by 5 percent, a move he condemned before leading the BRS MLAs out of the House.
He also expressed frustration for not being given an opportunity to present his arguments on behalf of BCs in the House. However, he clarified that the BRS supports the sub-categorisation of Scheduled Castes (SCs) into Group I, II and III.
During the debate on the household survey, Rama Rao accused the Congress government of deceiving BCs by not fulfilling its promise to introduce a Bill for 42 percent reservations, as pledged in the Kamareddy BC Declaration.
He argued that the government had only made an announcement without taking meaningful legislative steps.
“A mere statement cannot be called historic,” Rama Rao stated, emphasising that the BC community expected a legally binding Bill to ensure 42 percent reservations. He warned that BCs would not accept the betrayal.
Rama Rao highlighted that BCs across Telangana had anticipated the government would introduce a Bill during the special Assembly session to implement 42 percent reservations in local body elections. Instead, the government only issued a statement without initiating any actionable measures.
He also recalled that during the comprehensive household survey conducted during the BRS regime, Revanth Reddy had publicly urged people not to provide their details. The leader questioned the government’s refusal to recognise the data collected in what he described as an open and transparent survey.
He pointed out that the survey, conducted by the previous government, had provided authentic figures. According to the Samagra Kutumba Survey, Rama Rao explained, 1.03 crore families (3.68 crore people) participated. The survey revealed that BCs constituted 51 percent of the population, a figure that rises to 61 percent when BC Muslims are included.
Rama Rao accused the government of manipulating statistics, questioning how the BC population had dropped from 51 percent to 46 percent in the current survey. He noted that a Congress MLC had even called for the burning of the official survey report, raising serious concerns about the transparency and credibility of the data presented by the ruling party.
He further stated that BC organisations across Telangana are calling the government to account. He accused the Congress of misleading the public with false promises regarding BC reservations and the BC Sub-Plan.