Hyderabad: Several organizations working for the Backward Classes have called for “Telangana bandh” on Saturday to register their protest against the TG High Court’s interim stay on the GO providing 42 per cent reservations to BCs in seats and positions in the local bodies in the state.

The call for bandh is supported by all the political parties, including the ruling Congress and those in the Opposition in the State.

Some schools and colleges have already declared a holiday. The BC organisations, under the banner of Telangana Backward Classes Joint Action Committee (JAC), will be organizing the protests. Various parties and participating BC organizations organized a ‘solidarity rally’ in the city on Friday from Basheerbagh to the Ambedkar statue at Tank Bund. BC JAC chairman R Krishnaiah said that BCs should be given their rights and asserted that the BC organisations will continue their fight until they get reservations. He said that “exploitation of the BCs” should be stopped and appealed to all sections to support the bills passed by the state Assembly enhancing quota for the BCs.

On this occasion, several leaders demanded that 42 per cent reservation be implemented for BCs in the upcoming polls to local bodies and that the issue of reservations be included in the 9th Schedule of the Constitution with appropriate legal amendments. The leaders said that the central government had the responsibility to implement reservations for BCs, who constitute more than half of the population. They called on all sections of society, irrespective of their affiliation to parties and associations, to participate in the ‘Telangana bandh’ on Saturday.

Apart from the Opposition parties, the ruling Congress is also participating in the bandh. Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee chief M Mahesh Kumar Goud said that the Congress party would provide full support to the bandh. He said that Congress leaders, including MPs, MLAs, and MLCs, will be participating in the bandh. "BC reservation is the patent right of the Congress party. Though our party is in power, we have decided to take part in the bandh for the cause. No matter how much the Bharatiya Janata Party leaders talk on BCs, they cannot get a place in the hearts of the BCs”, remarked Mahesh Goud, while asking party leaders to participate in the bandh.

Announcing support to the JAC, BRS leader T Srinivas Yadav said that party leaders would participate in the bandh starting from Telangana Bhavan. Yadav maintained that the BC reservations would not be materialize under Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy’s regime. He said that BRS will not accept elections to local bodies unless 42 per cent reservations were provided to the BCs.

Extending BJP’s full support to the bandh, party’s state unit president N Ramchander Rao affirmed his party’s commitment to the cause, stating, “Our party stands firmly with the BCs in their fight for justice. We appreciate R Krishnaiah’s relentless efforts over the years for the uplift of the BC community.”