Hyderabad: The Telangana Assembly on Sunday, August 31, passed the Panchayat Raj Amendment Bill, 2025, enabling the implementation of 42 percent reservation for backward classes in local body elections. Animal Husbandry Minister Vakiti Srihari, who introduced the Bill, said the move reflects the government’s commitment to empowering BC communities and strengthening their representation in grassroots democracy. He appealed to opposition parties, including Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), to extend their support to the legislation.

Backward Classes Welfare Minister Ponnam Prabhakar assured that the quota would be enforced in the upcoming local body elections and emphasized that the benefit would be reserved exclusively for BC communities. While welcoming the move, BRS working president K. T. Rama Rao (KTR) expressed skepticism over the Congress government’s sincerity, questioning why Congress leadership, including Rahul Gandhi, had remained silent on the issue in Parliament. He said that the government must prove its seriousness by ensuring immediate and effective implementation of the quota.

Chief Minister Revanth Reddy countered the opposition’s criticism, accusing BRS of creating hurdles in the past by passing legislations that prevented enhancement of BC quota. After a heated exchange between ruling and opposition benches, the Telangana Municipalities (Third Amendment) Bill, 2025, and Telangana Panchayat Raj (Third Amendment) Bill, 2025, were cleared by voice vote. The passage of the Bills is expected to shape the political and social landscape in Telangana’s rural and urban governance by giving a stronger voice to BC communities.