Ready to felicitate PM Modi in public meeting if he endorses BC quota Bill, says Revanth

The Telangana Chief Minister demanded that Mr. Modi step down from his post if he does not endorse the hike in quota.

Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy has said that he is ready to felicitate Prime Minister Narendra Modi at a public meeting if the latter clears the path for the implementation of the 42% quota for the Backward Classes (BCs) as proposed by the Congress government in Telangana by taking up the constitutional amendment in Parliament.

“Why should the Centre or the Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi have any problem if the Telangana government enhances reservations for the BCs after all political parties jointly passed an unanimous resolution in the Legislative Assembly,” he said on Wednesday.

Addressing a protest meeting held at Delhi’s Jantar-Mantar seeking the Centre’s support for the hiked BC quota, Mr. Revanth Reddy urged Mr. Modi to listen to the participants’ opinion. “If we want to increase our quota to benefit the children of the weaker sections to get better education and jobs after taking up a comprehensive caste census, why is the Centre against it? When all other parties have extended support why has the BJP kept away? We are seeking quota for our own State, not for Gujarat or any other State,” he said.

The Chief Minister demanded that Mr. Modi step down from his post if he does not endorse the hike in quota and said the BCs will earn their just rights after hoisting the flag at the Red Fort. “The Prime Minister should not think of dictating terms and be aware of what had happened to the erstwhile Nizam and landlords of Telangana,” he added.

Mr. Reddy explained that the Congress government took up the caste census to fulfil the promise made by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi during his ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ within 100 days of coming to power. The BJP, on the other hand, has not taken up caste enumeration in Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat or in any State where the party is in power.

In fact, the BJP has been ideologically opposed to the BC reservations and had conspired to launch the ‘Kamandal Yatra’ to counter the Mandal Commission recommendations sought to be implemented by the then V.P. Singh government, he maintained. The Chief Minister also accused the BJP of refusing to conduct the population census scheduled for 2021 because “it will have to enumerate castes too and hence, is against the development of BCs”.

TPCC president Mahesh Kumar Goud said the BJP and BRS leaders were shedding crocodile tears for BC welfare and questioned their commitment for refusing to take part in the meeting. The Congress government’s “historic” caste census shepherded by an upper caste (Reddy) Chief Minister has become the guiding light for the rest of the country, he said and urged Mr. Modi to support the quota Bill. He urged BC organisations to support the government in this endeavour and added that it is the Congress party alone which is concerned about the welfare of weaker sections. BC Welfare Minister Ponnam Prabhakar and Forests & Environment Minister Konda Surekha also participated.