Hyderabad: BRS leaders have announced that they will hold a ‘BC Garjana’ meeting on August 14 in Karimnagar with the aim of pressuring the Congress government to implement its pre-poll promise of 42 per cent reservation for Backward Classes (BCs).

The decision was taken in a meeting of former ministers and leaders belonging to the backward classes of the party, held at Telangana Bhavan on Thursday. MLC Madhusudan Chari and MLA Talasani Srinivas Yadav addressed the media, stating that the ‘BC Garjana’ meeting would be organised at Jyotiba Phule Ground, Karimnagar, on August 14 at 3 pm.

BRS leaders demanded that the Congress government conduct local body elections only after granting 42 per cent reservations to the backward classes, warning that they would “show the power of BC” to the Congress party. The BRS leaders termed the Congress party’s protest in Delhi, led by Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy, to pressurise the Central Government to approve the BC Bill, as a “drama.” “If this was not a drama to deceive the BC class, then why did senior Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge, and Priyanka Gandhi not attend the protest?” asked the BRS leaders.

The BRS leaders demanded that if the Congress was committed to giving 42 per cent reservation to the backward class, it should first give positions to ministers from the BC community in the cabinet and allocate the Revenue and Home Departments to them. They demanded that the Congress government implement 42 per cent reservation in the appointment of various corporation chairmen. They alleged that the Congress government conducted a caste census in haste, which had many flaws, and by celebrating, created an atmosphere as if 42 per cent reservation had been granted to the BC classes.

Srinivas Yadav pointed out that the party was ready to go to Delhi as an all-party delegation, but the method of the invitation was wrong. “How could anyone go when there was an open call?” he asked. He said that in Tamil Nadu, the then Chief Minister Jayalalitha had achieved BC reservation by including it in the IXth schedule after convincing all the political parties and the Prime Minister. He added that the Congress government in Telangana should also take steps forward on the lines of the Tamil Nadu government.