Will Telangana government introduce the Hate Speech and CURE Bills this session?

Political debate has intensified over whether the Telangana government will introduce the Hate Speech and Hate Crimes Bill and the CURE Bill during the monsoon session, with both proposals facing objections from political parties, experts and various sections of society

Hyderabad: Whether the Congress government will introduce the Telangana Hate Speech and Hate Crimes (Prevention) Bill, 2026 and the Telangana Core Urban Region (Integrated Governance) Bill, 2026 in the ensuing monsoon session has become a subject of political debate.

With both Bills drawing objections from political parties and various sections of society, questions remain over whether the government can secure enough support to get them passed.

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In March this year, Transport Minister Ponnam Prabhakar introduced the Telangana Hate Speech and Hate Crimes (Prevention) Bill, 2026 in the Assembly on behalf of Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy. Following objections and suggestions from members across party lines, the Assembly referred the Bill to a select committee on March 30.

Besides the BRS, BJP and AIMIM, the Congress ally CPI also opposed the Bill. CPI member Kunamneni Sambasiva Rao demanded that it be withdrawn, questioning provisions that could hold an entire political party accountable for statements made by an individual member.

Although the Bill was referred to a select committee in March, the committee was constituted only on July 7 under the chairmanship of Transport Minister Ponnam Prabhakar. It has been asked to submit its report before the conclusion of the 2026 monsoon session and held its first meeting on Saturday.

The committee has assured stakeholders that it will consider feedback from political parties and other sections while finalising the draft. However, political circles are debating whether the government can address the earlier objections and secure Opposition support, particularly after criticism over the State government’s arrests of individuals for posting or sharing content against the government on social media.

The Telangana Core Urban Region (Integrated Governance) draft Bill, 2026 has also attracted objections from various sections, especially over the proposed property tax structure and the methodology for the valuation of land and buildings.

Public policy expert Donthi Narasimha Reddy, in his feedback on the draft Bill, pointed out that the government had not constituted the Telangana State Property Tax Board mandated under Section 105 of the Telangana Municipalities Act, 2019.

He said the Board should be constituted within six months of the Act coming into force, with clearly defined composition, functions and powers, and that the proposed amendments should be placed before it for recommendations.

He also noted that under the existing system, capital value was calculated by combining land value based on Registration Department rates with building value assessed independently using plinth area, construction category and age-based depreciation.

According to him, the draft CURE Bill, 2026 removes this distinction by treating the Registration Department’s guideline value as the capital value for both land and buildings. He argued that this represented a substantive change in the valuation method without any explanation in the Bill or its Statement of Objects and Reasons.

Against this backdrop, political circles are debating whether the government will introduce both Bills during the ensuing monsoon session.

During a candlelight rally on July 25, Chief Minister Revanth Reddy had said the Assembly session would be held in the first week of August and would discuss a resolution seeking to lower the minimum age for contesting Assembly and Parliament elections.

It remains unclear whether the government will convene the session solely to adopt the resolution on the minimum age for contesting elections or also to take up the two contentious Bills.