BC Groups Push for Constitutional Amendment to Restore Local Body Quota

BC organisations in Andhra Pradesh have urged the state government to pursue a constitutional amendment to restore reservations in local bodies after a High Court struck down the 34% quota for BC candidates. Rajya Sabha member and National BC Welfare Association president R. Krishnaiah, speaking on behalf of 14 BC organisations, called on the government to take up the issue with the Centre and seek a constitutional amendment.

Krishnaiah noted that an appeal to the Supreme Court alone was unlikely to succeed given its earlier judgments imposing a 50% ceiling on reservations. He pointed out that BC reservations had been struck down in Karnataka, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha and Uttar Pradesh over the past 15 years on the ceiling issue. He questioned the constitutional or statutory basis for the 50% limit, noting that SC/ST reservations together ranged from 70 to 90% in some northeastern states. According to Krishnaiah, BCs constitute about 56% of the population but receive only 25% reservation in education and employment and lack political reservation in legislatures.

Krishnaiah urged Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu and Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan to press Prime Minister Narendra Modi for a constitutional amendment, with support from Telugu Desam, Jana Sena and JDU.