HYDERABAD : An eight-hour reservation debate in the Telangana assembly on Monday culminated in the passage of two landmark bills that aim to extend the quantum of reservation in education, govt jobs and rural and urban self-governance from 50% to 70%, breaching Supreme Court’s cap on quotas.
CM A Revanth Reddy showcased political unanimity in passing the bills – BRS, BJP, AIMIM and CPI backed the move – as a sign that the state’s reservation framework deserved to be enshrined with a constitutional amendment during the ongoing session of Parliament.
The first of the proposed laws — Telangana Backward Classes, Scheduled Castes & Scheduled Tribes (reservation of seats and appointments) Bill 2025 — proposes a 42% quota for BCs, 18% for SCs and 10% for STs, up from the existing 29% for BCs, 15% for SCs and 6% for STs.
T’gana banks on door-to-door survey data to build quota case
Telangana Backward Classes (reservation of seats in rural and urban local bodies) Bill 2025 extends the 42% BC quota to rural and urban local bodies. Before this, BC reservation in local bodies ranged from 18% to 23%, depending on population of each municipality or panchayat.
Revanth put his hand up to lead an all-party delegation to PM Modi and other senior MPs to press for the proposed constitutional amendment. He said empirical data from a door-to-door survey by state govt would drive this amendment. The data, which includes information on BCs, SCs, and STs, is being presented as a bulletproof argument for exceeding the 50% cap on reservations, a step Supreme Court had indicated could be considered if the numbers backed it.
Speaker Gaddam Prasad Kumar said the initial plan was to earmark 15% for SCs, which was increased to 18% based on a suggestion by AIMIM’s Akbaruddin Owaisi. But the House rejected three amendments proposed by BRS. These called for a 42% quota for BCs in all govt contracts, creation of a BC subplan similar to those for SCs and STs, and a Rs 20,000-crore allocation for BC welfare in the upcoming budget.
Revanth, along with deputy CM Bhatti Vikramarka and BC welfare minister Ponnam Prabhakar, expressed confidence that a constitutional amendment was a matter of time. Prabhakar urged all political parties to set aside their differences to institutionalise the 42% BC quota, drawing inspiration from Tamil Nadu’s success in securing similar reservation for them through bipartisan support.
The assembly also discussed Telangana Scheduled Castes (rationalisation of reservations) Bill, which deals with the sub-classification of SCs. It will be debated on Tuesday before being sent to the governor for approval. Supreme Court has empowered states to sub-classify SCs.
Revanth informed the House that the erstwhile BRS govt had sent a proposal to Centre for 37% BC reservation. He said Congress govt would withdraw that proposal and send a new one for 42% reservation as the two proposals couldn’t coexist.
