Panchayat Polls 2019: BCs For 34% Reservations

Hyderabad: Dissatisfied by the Ordinance passed by the Telangana government limiting reservations to Backward Classes in the Gram Panchayat polls to 23.24 %, the BC Association has threatened to launch a statewide agitation if the government did not accept their demand of 34 % reservations.The erstwhile AP government in 2013 conducted the elections in the combined state by permitting 34 % reservations to the BCs. The then AP government could do so because it was backed by an interim order from the Supreme Court against the High Court order to hold the reservations within 50 %. The election were held in 2013 with reservations of 60.55 % seats and offices in PR bodies for SCs, STs, and BCs.

Even this time the Telangana government moved the Apex Court with an appeal to allow it to provide 34 % quota to the BCs, the court struck down the appeal of the state government and made it clear that the reservations shall not exceed 50 %. The BC welfare organization, headed by Justice V. Eswaraiah, a former judge and former Chairman of the National BC Commission, and politicians from Congress party including V. Hanumantha Rao, R. Krishnaiah, Dasoju Sravan, and Srinivas Goud are demanding that the state government should increase reservations to 34%.

They said that the erstwhile Andhra Pradesh government had prescribed the 34% quota in 1994 under the AP Panchayat Raj Act and the 50 % reservations could not be applicable for political reservations. It was applicable for reservations in education and public employment. As many as 19 BC Organizations have convened a meeting on December 19 to decide the future course of action and threatened to launch state-wide agitations.

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