Telangana CM, leaders present OBC reservation model before Congress leadership

New Delhi: Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy and other state party leaders on Thursday met Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and former party chief Rahul Gandhi and apprised them of the state government's new movement for social justice by recommending 42 per cent OBC reservation. The state party leaders present alongside the chief minister included Telangana Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramala, Telangana Congress chief Bomma Maheshkumar Goud and AICC in-charge Meenakshi Natarajan, besides party MLAs and ministers. They said the fight for the greater participation of Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST) and Other Backward Communities (OBC) in society and governance is gaining momentum through the Congress party's push for social justice, equity, and empowerment of the weaker sections in Telangana.

Later, Congress chief Kharge said that Social Justice 2.0, a new movement by the party for social justice, equity and empowerment of the weaker sections, has begun in Telangana. "Our unwavering fight for justice, spearheaded by Rahul Gandhi, is giving voice to the millions from SC, ST, OBC and EWS communities who have been sidelined for decades. Despite forming a vast majority of India's population, these communities are glaringly absent from top corporate boards, the judiciary, bureaucracy, and premier institutions... "For instance, even today, there is a Parliamentary answer that says 80 per cent OBC posts for professors and 83 per cent ST posts lie vacant in Central universities. Our demand was to conduct a nationwide caste census and remove the arbitrary 50 per cent cap on reservations. This government has accepted to conduct the caste survey under huge public pressure, but without removing the cap," he said in an X post. Kharge said the scientific manner in which Telangana has conducted its survey must be a role model for the entire nation. "Based on this groundbreaking socio-economic survey, the Government in Telangana has recommended 42 per cent reservations for OBCs in local body elections and educational institutions. This significant bill is currently awaiting the assent of the Honourable President of India," Kharge said. "We extend our sincere gratitude to the Independent Expert Working Group led by former Supreme Court judge Justice B Sudarshan Reddy, Telangana Congress president, the Telangana chief minister, deputy chief minister, cabinet ministers and MPs for this pioneering work," the Congress president posted. Reddy and officers accompanying him is scheduled to make a presentation on caste census before all Congress MPs, at Indira Bhawan in the evening.