Chief Minister Revanth Reddy is said to be worried over the possible legal and constitutional complications of bringing the BC ordinance. He has reportedly decided that if legal disputes arise over the BC quota, the Congress party has decided to immediately move forward with reservations. He is holding talks with legal experts and BC association leaders on the same issue.
The Congress believes that whether the Governor approves the ordinance or not will be beneficial in two ways. If approved, it is believed that elections can be held before anyone goes to court and wins the approval of the BC community. If the Governor does not approve it, it is thinking of defaming the BRS and BJP.
The government seems to be in a hurry to complete the election process immediately after assuring the BCs that the party will provide reservations. During the assembly elections, the Congress promised to provide 42 percent reservation to BCs in local body elections, education and employment sectors.
The statewide house-to-house survey was conducted and the reservations were increased accordingly based on the statistics and the reports of the Dedicated Commission. Although 2 bills were introduced and passed separately in the assembly sessions, they are currently pending with the President.
In this context, the government has decided to set aside those bills and bring an ordinance to amend the Panchayat Raj Act 2018 regarding reservations and implement 42 percent reservations. Recently, the cabinet led by Chief Minister Revanth Reddy approved the issuance of the ordinance.
Legal experts say that to do so, amendments will have to be made to the Telangana Municipalities Act 2019 as well. Otherwise, they say, the matter will come up again.The government has already asked the Dedicated Commission to submit a report on reservations regarding municipalities.
The government believes that demand in the education and employment sectors will increase after implementation in local bodies. It is learnt that several Congress leaders have expressed their concerns to government officials that if it is implemented only in the Panchayats and not in other areas, they will have to face opposition again and face political disgrace.