Harish Rao slams BJP, Congress over delay in BC reservation hike

BRS senior leader T Harish Rao criticised the BJP and Congress for inaction on BC quota hikes, highlighting their parliamentary majority. He credited K Chandrashekhar Rao for championing BC rights and urged both national parties to act through constitutional amendments, not street protests

Hyderabad: Coming down heavily on the ruling BJP at the Centre and the Congress in Telangana, BRS senior leader and former Minister T Harish Rao accused both national parties of hypocrisy and inaction on the BC quota hike issue. Holding them responsible for the fiasco, Rao questioned why the parties, with overwhelming presence in Parliament, were failing to push through the necessary legislation despite publicly supporting the BCs.

Rao highlighted the numerical dominance of the two parties in Parliament, noting that the BJP holds 240 seats while Congress has 99 MPs. “With such a combined majority, who can block the reservation bill?” he asked. He also urged both sides to prioritise constitutional amendments over “street dramas” that he said were insulting to the BC community. The BRS leader criticised Congress for conducting six national censuses without enumerating BC populations, and slammed the BJP for postponing the census over the past four years.

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Over the last 35 years, he pointed out, Congress ruled the country for 15 years and BJP for 17, yet neither addressed BC concerns meaningfully. “Now, both national parties are pretending to love BCs,” Rao alleged. He credited BRS president and former Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao as the only leader who, as early as 2005, demanded a dedicated BC Ministry at the Centre. Under Chandrashekhar Rao’s leadership, the Telangana Assembly passed resolutions twice advocating enhanced reservations and even submitted a direct plea to the Prime Minister.

Despite this, Rao said, no progress has been made by BJP or Congress-led governments. Directly targeting Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, Rao questioned, “Why isn’t Rahul Gandhi, who chants ‘Jitani Abadi Utna Haq’ (Rights proportionate to population), introducing a private member’s bill in Parliament?” He also called out Telangana BJP leaders, including union Ministers G Kishan Reddy and Bandi Sanjay Kumar, and eight BJP MPs from the State, for not exerting pressure on the Centre.

Accusing both parties of engaging in political theatrics for electoral gains, Rao emphasised that the path to increasing BC reservations lies in a constitutional amendment via Parliament, not prolonged delays. “BRS will extend full support to any bill introduced by any party and join any struggle for this cause,” he assured, and demanded that Congress and BJP should “stop the street dramas and start the fight in Delhi.”