Launch indefinite hunger strike in Delhi to secure 42 per cent BC reservations, KTR dares Revanth Reddy

Accuses Congress, BJP of exploiting the backward classes as a vote bank while avoiding constitutional amendments to enhance BC quotas

Hyderabad: Expressing skepticism about Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy’s commitment to backward classes (BCs) reservations, BRS working president KT Rama Rao challenged him to prove his sincerity by launching an indefinite hunger strike in Delhi until 42 per cent BC reservation was secured. He was confident that Telangana’s BC youth would ensure that the Chief Minister did not back out once he sat on a hunger strike.

“If he truly cares about BCs, let him fight in Delhi, not just make empty promises in Telangana,” he said, charging both the Congress and the BJP with exploiting BCs as a vote bank while deliberately avoiding constitutional amendments to enhance BC quotas. He argued that both the parties could easily amend the constitution, if they wished.

In an informal interaction with mediapersons at the BRS Legislative Party office on Monday, Rama Rao said Revanth Reddy had failed to deliver on his promises to BCs. Unlike him, the BRS took a proactive stance and had passed resolutions during the BRS regime to boost BC reservations and establish a dedicated BC Welfare Ministry at the Centre.

“We demanded a caste census long before Rahul Gandhi even thought of it,” he said, criticising Congress for failing to allocate even 20 Assembly seats to BC candidates during elections.

Calling Revanth Reddy a BJP covert within the Congress, the BRS working president cited Rahul Gandhi’s recent remarks about BJP infiltrators in the Congress. “It is an indirect reference to the Chief Minister who is secretly working with the BJP against the Congress,” he said.

Pointing to Revanth Reddy’s recent post-budget meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he raised suspicions about its real purpose. “Revanth Reddy submitted 11 proposals to Modi after the union budget. Later, Minister Sridhar Babu was asked to step out of the room, for a private meeting between the duo. What was discussed privately? Telangana’s people have a right to know,” he demanded, questioning the benefits for the State from the Centre despite his friendship.

He said the Congress high command no more trusted Revanth Reddy and hence, took complete control over the State. He pointed out that despite being the Chief Minister, Revanth Reddy was in a helpless situation where he could not even form a full Cabinet even after 15 months of Congress rule. “But he succeeded in boosting his wealth through all corrupt ways. While Telangana’s revenue plummeted, Revanth Reddy’s income skyrocketed,” he added.

The former Minister also charged Revanth Reddy and Union Minister G Kishan Reddy with staging a political drama to divert public attention from their failure to act upon issues plaguing the State. “This is a scripted act to distract from real issues,” he said.

He said there was a tacit understanding between Congress and BJP to undermine regional parties like the BRS, pointing to the absence of BJP-led agitations against the State government’s alleged corruption and unfulfilled promises over the past 15 months. “For 15 months, only the BRS has fought for the people, raising issues like farmers’ struggles, six guarantees, and Krishna water rights. Where are the Congress and BJP on these matters?” he questioned.

On recent graduate and teacher MLC elections, Rama Rao said it did not fetch any real gains for the BJP, terming it as a social media hype, with no real traction on the ground. He dismissed their impact, stating that the BRS chose not to contest, focusing on local body elections and the by-polls likely to be held due to disqualification of defected MLAs.

However, he termed the results as a rebuke to Revanth Reddy. “He boasted of creating 50,000 jobs and asked graduates to defeat the Congress candidate, if it was not true. The graduates promptly rejected the Congress’s claims with their votes. In just 15 months, Congress has sparked massive public discontent,” he remarked.

He also criticised Revanth Reddy’s criticism of the Kaleshwaram project, noting that even Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu had lauded its value, while Revanth continued to “shamelessly” discredit Telangana’s achievements.

Rama Rao also predicted more hollow promises and diversion tactics during the upcoming budget session. He suspected that the Congress government could revive Formula-E controversy to target him and divert public attention and even summon him for questioning. While vowing to answer the Congress’s accusations, he questioned what did the Revanth Reddy government plan to achieve by hosting a Rs 200 crore beauty pageant, compared to the investments and jobs BRS brought with Rs 46 crore for Formula E.