Hyderabad (Telangana) [India], July 30 (ANI): Telangana Jagruthi president and BRS MLC Kalvakuntla Kavitha on Tuesday announced a 72-hour hunger strike demanding the immediate implementation of 42 per cent reservations for Backward Classes (BCs) in local bodies, as well as in education and employment.
Addressing a press conference at the Somajiguda Press Club in Hyderabad, alongside leaders of the United Phule Front (UPF) and various BC organisations, Kavitha said the hunger strike will be held from 11 am on August 4 to 11 am on August 7 at Dharna Chowk, Indira Park.
Kavitha stated that the Telangana government had introduced and passed two separate bills for BC reservations in the Legislative Assembly and Council, following sustained efforts by Telangana Jagruthi and UPF. However, she alleged that despite promising to take an all-party delegation to the Centre, the state government has not pursued the matter further.
Accusing the Congress government of merely resorting to rhetoric without taking any concrete steps to get the bill passed by the President of India, she criticised that the previous dharna by the Congress leaders in Delhi was ignored even by their leader, Rahul Gandhi. She accused the Congress of planning another dharna in Delhi for political gains in the Bihar elections, thereby deceiving the BC community.
Referring to the state government’s claims that it will conduct elections to local bodies by the end of September as per the High Court’s directive, she emphasised that increasing the BC reservation quota is as crucial as holding elections as per the deadline.
She questioned why the state government had not pursued legal action if the President had not approved the bills passed by the Assembly for more than three months. Likewise, the Governor has not approved the ordinance passed by the state cabinet. She cited Tamil Nadu’s example, where the state government fought legally to secure a higher reservation quota, and asked why Telangana is not doing the same.
She said it would be welcome if the President approves the bills. If rejected, the Assembly and Council could re-approve them for a second time to implement the reservations.
She further criticised the BJP, which claims to support a BC Chief Minister and Prime Minister, for obstructing BC reservation enhancement in Telangana. The presence of eight MPs and two Union Ministers from the state has yielded no results, she said
Kavitha accused Chief Minister Revanth Reddy of not pressuring the central government on the issue so as to protect his “big brother”, Narendra Modi, alleging a secret agreement with the BJP is stopping the state from approaching the courts. She demanded that petitions be filed immediately in the High Court and Supreme Court to bring pressure on the central government.
She questioned Minister Ponnam Prabhakar’s call for MLAs and MLCs to voluntarily join a dharna in Delhi. The established practice in democracy is for the government to write to the heads of all political parties seeking their participation in the proposed protest.
Recalling her 72-hour hunger strike in the united Andhra Pradesh for the installation of an Ambedkar statue, which led to the then Kiran Kumar Reddy government conceding the same, Kavitha reiterated that she will undertake a similar hunger strike for the BC bills to become a reality. (ANI)
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