Chief Minister Revanth Reddy is likely to delay conduct of local body polls further, as two crucial bills related to BC Reservations are still pending with Governor Jishnu Dev Varma. His government recently sent four important bills approved by the Assembly and Legislative Council to the Governor, of which he gave the green signal to only two.
The Governor approved the bills related to the merger of new villages in Jinnaram Municipality, as well as some amendments in the Municipal Act. However, the crucial bills related to the lifting of the 50 percent reservation limit in Panchayat Raj and Municipal elections are still pending.
With this, the Revanth Reddy government, which has provided 42 percent reservation for BCs in local bodies and is waiting to go to the elections, is in trouble. Moreover, the state Congress leadership is of the opinion that the elections should not be held until the 42 percent reservation for BCs is finalized.
Since there is no clear progress on the approval of the bill sent to Governor Jishnu Dev Verma, government leaders are internally deliberating on what to do? There is extensive discussion on how to move forward. It is known that the High Court has already ordered the state government to hold local body elections in the state by the 30th of this month.
But the implementation of BC reservations has become a major issue for the conduct of elections. The bill passed by the assembly has not been approved by the governor so far, and the government is unable to take any decision on the conduct of elections with the provisions that the total reservation should not exceed 50 percent as per the Supreme Court verdict.
The state government has been working on creating 42 percent reservation for BCs since February last year. After the caste census, a resolution was unanimously introduced in the assembly, the bill was approved and sent to the central government. To increase pressure on the center, the state Congress leadership has taken up several protest programs inside and outside the parliament.
However, as it was of no use, an ordinance was brought and sent to the state governor, who sent it to the president without approving it. With this, a special assembly was formed and a unanimous resolution was passed to lift the 50 percent ceiling on local body elections and sent to the Governor, but there has been no progress on that either.
The issue of passing the bill and including it in the 9th schedule of the Constitution has become crucial. The government has to take a final decision on BC reservations and report that information to the State Election Commission. Only then will there be complete clarity on the conduct of the elections.