HYDERABAD: The Legislative Assembly on Tuesday unanimously passed The Telangana Scheduled Castes (Rationalisation of Reservations) Bill, 2025. The Bill sub-categorises the constitutionally mandated 15% reservations for Scheduled Castes (SCs) by classifying the 59 subcastes into three groups — Group 1, Group 2 and Group 3 — allocating 1%, 9%, and 5% reservations, respectively.
Addressing the House, Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy assured SCs that it was the state government’s responsibility to restructure reservations based on the population data from the 2025 Census. He said the government could not do so in the current legislation due to the Supreme Court-mandated threshold.
He pointed out that the Bill had 100% support of the House, whereas only 51% was needed.
Revanth asserted that the Congress has a history of empowering Dalits, stating that the party made Damodaram Sanjeevaiah the chief minister of undivided AP in the 1960s. He added that the Congress appointed Dalit chief ministers in Maharashtra, Punjab and Bihar.
Government will support families of those who died for SC cause: CM
Recalling that the Congress government appointed Sidharth Luthra to present arguments in favour of SC sub-categorisation in The State of Punjab vs. Davinder Singh case, Revanth pointed out that Health Minister Damodar Rajanarsimha led the state’s legal team.
Revanth recalled that he had promised to implement SC sub-classification in the Assembly within an hour of the Supreme Court judgment. The chief minister pointed out that a Cabinet Sub-Committee, headed by Irrigation Minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy, was appointed to oversee the implementation of the court’s order. The sub-committee met six times and decided to appoint a one-man commission, which conducted extensive consultations and received 8,681 representations from various groups.
Observing that SC youths had died for the cause of SC sub-classification — similar to the Telangana movement — the chief minister said his government would support the families of those who sacrificed their lives for the cause by prioritising them for the Indiramma Housing Scheme and Rajiv Yuva Vikasam.
Uttam, who headed the Cabinet Sub-Committee, said he had been a member of the Assembly since 1999 and that the issue of SC sub-classification had been raised occasionally by various parties and members. He stated that it was the Congress government that had now turned it into reality, calling it a historic decision. He added that the state government would restructure SC sub-classification after the 2025 Census based on the SC population ratio.
Extending full support to the Bill, BJP MLA Payal Shankar thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for backing SC sub-classification. He said Modi had assured Madigas of his support by attending a community-held public meeting.
Shankar stated that the Supreme Court judgment allowing states to legislate on SC sub-classification came after the BJP-led Union government filed an affidavit presenting the facts accurately. He also praised MRPS activist Manda Krishna Madiga for his contributions and persistent efforts.
He noted that the Telangana Legislative Assembly had passed four resolutions in favour of SC sub-categorisation between 2004 and 2024, but without success.
Shankar stressed that mere sub-classification would not ensure upliftment without financial resource allocation, urging strict implementation of the SC Sub-Plan without deviations, such as using funds for village-level road construction.
On behalf of BRS, Zaheerabad MLA Manik Rao extended complete support to the Bill, stating that it had been a long-standing demand spanning 30 years. He noted that BRS supremo K Chandrasekhar Rao had supported SC sub-classification during the Telangana movement. He added that during his tenure as chief minister, KCR met Modi and submitted resolution copies requesting further action. He urged the state government to proceed with recruitment notifications only after implementing the proposed legislation. Manik Rao also requested an increase in the reservation for Madigas — categorised in Group 2 — from the proposed 9% to 12%.
AIMIM MLA Mohammed Majid Hussain demanded that the state government specify a timeframe for implementing the revised reservations.
SC groups
G-I: Most disadvantaged
15 communities
3.288% of the population (as per 2011 Census)
1% recommended reservation
G-II: Moderately benefited
18 communities
62.748% of the population (as per 2011 Census)
9% recommended reservation
G-III: Significantly benefited
26 communities
33.963% of the population (as per 2011 Census)
5% recommended reservation
59 castes n 15% reservation
