AP intensifies SC battle for 34% BC reservations
In Short
Ram Mohan Naidu says legal route offers hope of securing reservation beyond 50 per cent ceiling; ministers consult senior advocates
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Information and public relations and housing minister K Parthasarathy, along with civil aviation minister K Ram Mohan Naidu and other state ministers at AP Bhavan in New Delhi on Tuesday
Amaravati: The state government has stepped up its legal battle to restore 34 per cent reservation for Backward Classes (BCs) in local body elections, turning to the Supreme Court after the High Court’s ruling restricted the state’s ability to implement the quota beyond the 50 per cent reservation ceiling.
Civil aviation minister K Ram Mohan Naidu said on Tuesday that the government approached the Supreme Court because a legal avenue existed to secure the BC quota. He said the state was examining the issue on the basis of empirical data, judicial precedents and the High Court’s orders, while seeking a solution without further complicating the matter.
Ram Mohan Naidu, along with agriculture minister K Atchannaidu, revenue minister Anagani Satya Prasad and information and public relations minister Kolusu Parthasarathy, held discussions with legal experts and senior advocates in Delhi. The ministerial team consulted former attorney general Mukul Rohatgi and senior advocate Devadatt Kamat on the way forward.
Ram Mohan Naidu said several states were also exploring ways to secure BC reservations through inclusion in the Ninth Schedule, underscoring the wider constitutional and legal debate surrounding quotas exceeding the 50 per cent ceiling.
He accused the YSRCP of working against the interests of BCs and questioned its opposition to the reservation. “This is not a political issue but a matter of social justice,” he said, stressing that implementation of the 34 per cent quota could provide around 16,800 elected positions to BCs in panchayats, municipalities and other local bodies.
Atchannaidu said the government would pursue the legal battle “until the last moment” to restore the 34 per cent quota. Recalling the evolution of BC political representation, Atchannaidu said former chief minister N T Rama Rao introduced 20 per cent reservation for weaker sections in local bodies in 1987, while Chandrababu Naidu subsequently raised it to 34 per cent in 1995. He alleged that the previous YSRCP government reduced the quota from 34 per cent to 24 per cent without a legislative amendment or approaching the Supreme Court.
Parthasarathy said the objective was not merely to provide a token quota but to ensure political and democratic empowerment of BCs. He cited Articles 243D and 243T of the Constitution, arguing that the state was exercising its constitutional mandate to ensure adequate representation of weaker sections in local bodies.
