Hyderabad: MLC Teenmar Mallanna on Sunday said no political party in Telangana was willing to truly empower Backward Class (BC) leaders. He accused all major parties Congress, BRS, and BJP of sidelining BCs both in governance and candidate selection.
Speaking at a press conference in Nizamabad, Teenmar Mallanna announced that BC candidates would contest all eight assembly seats in the district in the upcoming elections. “There are 25 lakh BCs in this region. Yet not even one BC MLA represents them. Why is that?” he asked.
Criticising former MP Kalvakuntla Kavitha, he said she had failed to bring any meaningful development to the district. He also highlighted how the only elected BC MLA, Bajireddy Govardhan, had been moved from one constituency to another across elections. “Even that seat was taken away by KCR, who gave it to a Velama candidate,” he said.
Teenmar Mallanna on BC leaders demanded that the Congress government increase BC reservation from 42% to 60% and allocate at least nine ministerial posts to BC leaders in the cabinet. He said the BC JAC would fight for these rights and mobilise across the state.
He cited caste census data showing that the OC population in Telangana is just 15%. “Let them keep their 15%. It’s time BCs get the remaining share,” he said, demanding proportional representation.
He slammed both BJP and BRS for avoiding any serious talk on the 42% BC reservation. “They dodge the issue every time. That’s why we are leading a movement to liberate Nizamabad and Telangana from upper caste dominance,” he said.
The MLC urged BC communities to unite and claimed that change would only come if BCs asserted their political power. “We’ve waited long enough. The time for BC Telangana is now,” he declared.
