Hyderabad: The state government received a major boost on Monday when the Supreme Court refused to entertain a plea challenging the 42 per cent quota for Backward Classes communities in local body elections. Soon afterwards, Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy held a teleconference with ministers and law department officials to review the issue.
He spoke over the phone with Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka and ministers Ponnam Prabhakar and Vakiti Srihari, who were in Delhi and attended the Supreme Court hearing, and sought details of the proceedings.
The Chief Minister directed officials to present strong arguments when two petitions against the enhanced BC quota, which will come up at the Telangana High Court on October 8. The petitions, filed against GO 9, contend that the 42 per cent BC quota breaches the 50 per cent ceiling imposed by the Supreme Cour,t as the overall reservations in Telangana now stand at 67 per cent, including 15 per cent for Scheduled Castes and 10 per cent for Scheduled Tribes.
Revanth Reddy reportedly asked officials to engage eminent lawyers to defend the state government’s stand and place before the High Court the steps taken to comply with the apex court’s guidelines. He instructed them to highlight that the state government had conducted a caste census and set up a Dedicated BC Commission, which studied educational, employment and political backwardness and recommended the 42 per cent quota, which the government subsequently adopted.
Meanwhile, three implead petitions supporting the state government’s BC quota move were filed in the High Court on Monday. Congress leaders V. Hanumantha Rao, Mettu Saikumar and Laxman Yadav moved two separate petitions, while retired IAS officer T. Chiranjeevulu filed the third.
The State Election Commission has issued the schedule for local body elections, with the filing of nominations to commence from October 9. Official sources said the government is confident of securing the High Court’s approval for the increased quota, arguing that the process followed was scientific and based on statutory recommendations. It is also hopeful that the High Court will not stay the election process since the schedule has been released and preparations are underway.
