Telangana Jagruti president Kalvakuntla Kavitha on Friday, November 28, organised a ‘rail roko’ protest in Kamareddy, demanding the implementation of 42 per cent reservations for Backward Classes (BCs). Kavitha’s office stated that the protest was strategically organised in Kamareddy as it was the same district where the Congress government initially made the declaration to implement the 42 per cent reservations.
Protestors, who were sitting on the railway tracks, raised slogans of ‘Jai BC’, ‘Jai Jagruti’, and ‘Jai Telangana’ and were later removed by the police. Kavitha reportedly sustained a minor hand injury during the tussle.
The protest takes place amid preparations for local body polls. The Telangana State Election Commission issued a notification on November 25 for the Gram Panchayat elections, scheduled to be held in three phases next month, on December 11, 14, and 17, for 12,728 posts of sarpanchs and 1,12,242 wards.
The Congress government had been pushing for 42 per cent reservations in local body polls and had even released a government order for its implementation. However, an election notification previously issued on September 29th for Gram Panchayat, Mandal Parishad Territorial Constituencies (MPTCs), and Zilla Parishad Territorial Constituencies (ZPTCs) elections was suspended after the High Court set aside the government order concerning the reservation policy.
Following this, the Telangana Cabinet decided on November 17 to conduct only the Gram Panchayat elections in December, citing the risk of the ₹3,000 crore grant from the Centre lapsing by March 31, 2026. The government announced that the decision on holding the MPTCs, ZPTCs, and municipal corporation elections would be taken after the High Court delivers its final orders on the 42 per cent reservation for BCs.
However, when the list of total Panchayats reserved for BCs was released, it drew sharp criticism from the opposition. Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) working president KT Rama Rao slammed the Congress, pointing out that even after spending ₹160 crore on the caste census, the ruling party only delivered 17 per cent reservations, a significant fall from the previous 24 per cent.
Also read: K Kavitha hits out at BRS over ‘unjust’ removal
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