Hyderabad: Telangana transport minister Ponnam Prabhakar on Sunday said the Congress government, led by Chief Minister Revanth Reddy, had passed the BC Bill and forwarded it to the Governor. He credited the move to the leadership of Rahul Gandhi and said the Congress was committed to the welfare of backwards classes.
He criticised BRS leader K Kavitha, questioning her authority to comment on BC issues. “If she had raised her voice for the marginalised when BRS was in power, she might have earned that right,” he said.
Ponnam extended an invitation to BC leader and Rajya Sabha MP R Krishnaiah, asking him to accompany a delegation to the Prime Minister. “We’ll come to Delhi. Please get us an appointment. Let’s go together,” he said, addressing Krishnaiah as “a brother”.
He contrasted Krishnaiah’s advocacy with Kavitha’s approach, claiming even routine recommendations required formal letters when she hosted meals during parliamentary sessions. He dismissed symbolic gestures as meaningless.
The minister said the current Congress administration had a clear stance on BC issues, with direction from the Chief Minister, TPCC chief Mahesh Kumar Goud, and the cabinet. In ten years, BRS didn’t bother about BCs. Neither KCR nor those around him made any real effort,” he said.
Ponnam urged Krishnaiah not to entertain support from those who had ignored BCs in power. “Joining hands with someone who sidelined the marginalised makes no sense,” he said.
He accused Kavitha of using the BC Bill to play politics and insisted the legislation should not be politicised. According to him, 56% of Telangana’s population belongs to BC communities, and the Congress government is acting in good faith.
He appealed for political unity in support of backwards communities, saying those who failed to act while in power should not claim concern now.
