Court Halts Revanth Reddy Government's 42% Backward Classes Quota

The Revanth Reddy-led Telangana government has been dealt a significant political and administrative setback after the High Court issued an interim stay on the notification process for the local body polls.

The stay directly challenges the order which increased Backward Classes (BC) reservation to a contentious 42%, a key election promise of the Congress party.

The State Election Commission (SEC), which had already notified the schedule for the local body polls, now awaits the official court order to determine the fate of the electoral process, which is effectively in question.

The court has given the state government four weeks to file a comprehensive counter-affidavit defending the reservation increase and allowed the petitioners two weeks to file a rejoinder. The next hearing is scheduled after six weeks.

The High Court's interim stay has triggered protests from BC groups near the High Court premises, who accuse the state government's rushed process of jeopardising their quota.

BC leader and National BC Welfare Association president R Krishnaiah led the sharp condemnation, warning of massive protests across the state.

"Due to the hasty actions of the state government, injustice has been done to the BCs. They have hurt the self-respect of the BC community. Some cannot tolerate seeing BCs getting positions. They have snatched away what rightfully belonged to the BCs. We will show our strength and bring the state to a stop. Based on the government's response, we will call for a Telangana Bandh," R Krishnaiah said.

In a rush to manage the fallout, several BC Ministers were seen heading to Chief Minister Revanth Reddy's residence for an urgent strategy meeting on how to deal with the situation post the interim order given by the court.

Among them was Minister Jupally Krishna Rao, who stressed the government's unwavering commitment to the BC community.

Minister Jupally Krishna Rao affirmed the government's stance. "The Congress government remains firmly committed to enhancing reservations for the Backward Classes to 42%. We have taken this historic step towards social justice and political empowerment as part of our core promise, and we are confident in our legal position to implement this quota."

However, senior Congress leader V Hanumantha Rao, a veteran champion of BC rights, expressed deep disappointment with the court's decision, drawing parallels with reservations for other communities.

"The four-week stay is an injustice to us. This is very painful for me. We allowed 10 per cent quota for forward castes based on economic criterion. Should BCs always remain backward? This quota is vital for the community's upliftment, and we must fight to secure it," he said.

The petitions challenging the order argue that the total reservation, with the 42% BC quota added to existing SC (15%) and ST (10%) quotas, exceeds the judicially mandated 50% ceiling on reservations. 

The High Court's questions centred on whether the government's "application of mind" and the empirical data used by the BC Commission were sufficient to justify breaching this ceiling and applying a uniform 42% reservation across the entire state.

The Revanth Reddy government is now under immense pressure to prepare a strong legal and empirical defence within the four-week deadline to prevent the local body polls from being delayed indefinitely and to honour its crucial commitment to the BC community.

BRS leader Harish Rao said the Congress government is enacting a drama, knowing full well that the route they have taken will not pass legal muster.

"We also brought in a similar GO and it was struck down by court. But the Congress wants to only show off that they are wanting to enhance reservations for BCs. So the ministers went to Delhi when the SC was to hear and to the High Court here, even though they know it will be struck down by court," said BRS leader Dasoju Sravan.

The BJP says the state government is to blame for the setback in court. 

State BJP chief Ramchander Rao said the government had brought in the order, even as the Bill passed by the legislature is still pending with the governor.