Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy declared on Monday that the Congress government is committed to raising the reservation for Backward Classes (BCs) from 23% to 42% across education, employment, and political representation.

In a post on X, Reddy hailed the move as a historic fulfillment of a decades-long demand, spotlighting the state’s caste survey which pegs the BC population at 56.36%.

“It is my honour to announce the longest pending demand of the subaltern groups since Indian Independence, the yearning of our brothers & sisters belonging to the Backward Castes, on being counted & recognised in an official census - has finally found deliverance,” Reddy wrote, framing the hike as a transformative step for BCs.

The announcement aligns with the introduction of two bills in the Assembly on Monday, targeting 42% quotas in education, jobs, and rural-urban local bodies.

The policy builds on the Congress’s 2023 ‘BC Declaration’ from Kamareddy, a pre-election vow to boost BC representation from 23% to 42% in local bodies and extend it to government contracts.

Passed via voice vote alongside an SC sub-categorization bill, the legislation awaits a constitutional amendment—capped at 50% by Supreme Court precedent—prompting Reddy to urge opposition unity to press PM Narendra Modi for change.