Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy led a massive protest at Jantar Mantar on Wednesday, joined by hundreds of Congress workers, to press for Presidential assent to two Backward Classes (BC) reservation bills passed by the Telangana Assembly in March. The bills, aimed at increasing BC quotas to 42% in education, employment, and local bodies, remain stalled with the Governor, pending approval from President Droupadi Murmu.

The ‘Maha Dharna,’ backed by the All India Congress Committee (AICC), saw participation from state ministers, MPs, MLAs, MLCs, and BC organization leaders, including Deputy CM Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka and BC Welfare Minister Ponnam Prabhakar. Congress MP Chamala Kiran Kumar Reddy emphasized that the bills followed a scientific caste census, fulfilling a promise by Rahul Gandhi during the Bharat Jodo Yatra to make Telangana a model for social justice. On Tuesday, Congress MPs moved an adjournment motion in Parliament to demand a debate on the issue.

The protest, part of a three-day campaign, responds to a Telangana High Court directive mandating local body elections by September 30, 2025, which hinges on the bills’ approval. Reddy plans to lead a delegation to meet President Murmu on Thursday to submit a memorandum urging swift action. The agitation has sparked political sparring, with Telangana BJP president N. Ramchander Rao dismissing it as a “stunt,” while BRS MLC K. Kavitha launched a hunger strike in Hyderabad, accusing both Congress and BJP of delaying BC justice.

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