Ponnam Prabhakar asks BC groups to target opposition over stalled reservations

BC Welfare Minister Ponnam Prabhakar defended the Congress government’s efforts to extend 42 percent reservations for Backward Classes, blaming BJP and BRS for obstructing the move. He said the Supreme Court’s directions prevented implementation despite the party’s commitment.

Hyderabad: BC Welfare Minister Ponnam Prabhakar on Thursday urged BC organisations protesting against the Congress government over its inability to extend 42 percent reservations to instead target opposition parties, which he said were creating hurdles in implementing the enhanced quota.

He said the Congress government had followed all prescribed procedures to increase reservations for BCs, but the BJP and BRS did not support the move and were now shedding “crocodile tears.”

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Addressing a press conference, the Minister acknowledged that the Congress had promised 42 percent reservations for BCs, but said the government could not deliver due to directions given by the Supreme Court.

“Had the Congress come to power at the Centre, the 42 percent reservations for BCs issue would have been addressed in just one hour,” Prabhakar said.

He suggested that BC organisations propose practical measures to secure statutory reservations for the community, assuring that if they put forward suggestions, Congress BC Ministers would exert pressure on the State government to implement them.

The Minister reiterated that gram panchayat elections were being conducted independently without political affiliations, adding that political parties were not issuing tickets for candidates.

Meanwhile, Irrigation Minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy said the BRS was levelling “baseless allegations” of a Rs 50,000 crore scam in the construction of power plants.