Telangana Jagruthi President and BRS MLC K. Kavitha issued a stern warning to the Centre on Tuesday, declaring that no Delhi-bound train from the South will be permitted to pass through Telangana unless the bill granting 42% reservations to Backward Classes (BCs) receives Presidential assent.
Addressing a press conference in New Delhi, Kavitha announced a statewide ‘Rail Roko’ protest on July 17, demanding immediate approval of the BC reservation bill, which was passed by the Telangana Assembly. She cautioned that the agitation could turn indefinite if the Centre fails to act.
“Not a single train from Deccan to Delhi will be allowed to run. This is just a trailer. If the bill is not approved, we will intensify the protest. The 2.5 crore BC population in Telangana will not remain silent — they will teach the BJP a lesson,” she asserted. Kavitha accused both the BJP and Congress of long-standing neglect of BC communities and said she would write to all national parties seeking support for the bill’s implementation.
She criticized the Congress-led state government for allegedly taking a tokenistic approach by passing the bill in the Assembly but not ensuring its enforcement. As an interim measure, she urged the Revanth Reddy-led government to issue a Government Order (GO) under Article 243(D) of the Constitution, enabling immediate implementation of the enhanced quota. Kavitha also questioned the silence of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, saying,
“He travels across the country carrying the Constitution, yet he does not advise his own party’s Chief Minister in Telangana to act within its provisions.”
She further claimed Rahul Gandhi’s concern for BCs emerged only after the Congress lost power in 2014. She pointed out that even Congress-ruled states like Karnataka and Himachal Pradesh have yet to conduct caste censuses, highlighting the inconsistency in the party’s position.
Kavitha called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi — who identifies as an OBC — to uphold justice for BCs by facilitating Presidential assent for the Telangana bill. She also suggested placing the bill under the Ninth Schedule of the Constitution, similar to Tamil Nadu’s 69% reservation model, to protect it from judicial review. Lashing out at the eight BJP MPs from Telangana, Kavitha said their silence on the issue reflected the party’s indifference toward the state’s BC population.
She also countered legal arguments regarding the 50% cap on reservations, noting that the implementation of the EWS quota has already breached that limit. “Sixteen states have reservations exceeding 50%, so the legal roadblock being cited doesn’t hold water,” she stated. Kavitha questioned the credibility of the caste census recently conducted by the Congress government, saying it underestimated the BC population.
“While our 2014 family survey under former Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao found that BCs make up 52% of the population, the new survey claims it’s only 46% — which is misleading,” she argued.
Taking a dig at Chief Minister Revanth Reddy, she remarked that he seems to spend more time in Delhi than in Telangana and quipped that he’s already scored a “half-century” with his frequent visits to the capital.
In a broader appeal, Kavitha emphasized the commitment of regional parties to public welfare and cited leaders like Akhilesh Yadav, Naveen Patnaik, and the late Jayalalithaa as examples of leaders who prioritized the welfare of their people over politics.
