Hyderabad: Telangana BJP leader N Ramachander Rao criticized Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy and questioned how Congress MP Rahul Gandhi, with a Parsi grandfather and Catholic mother, could claim to be a “Janudhari Brahmin” while calling Prime Minister Narendra Modi a “converted BC.”
During a media interaction on Friday, Rao suggested that the Telangana Chief Minister might believe he invented the term “converted BC.” He accused Congress of going to any extent for power and stressed the need for respectful political dialogue. Rao explained that Modi’s community was recognized as OBC by the Gujarat State BC Commission before Modi’s political career began. Many communities have received recognition from their State BC Commissions over time. Rao argued that the Chief Minister’s comments not only attack Modi personally but also insult everyone in the BC category, revealing Congress’s anti-Backward Classes stance.
Rao emphasized that the BJP supports the state’s 42 percent reservation policy for BCs, but its implementation is up to the Congress-led Telangana government. He referenced several Supreme Court cases about the 50 percent reservation cap, noting that adding this cap to Schedule IX is open to judicial review. Rao clarified that the BJP opposes religion-based reservations, not Muslims, who already benefit from BC-E and EWS categories. He noted that Congress wants an additional 10 percent reservation for all Muslims.
Rao recalled that the BJP-led NDA government established separate SC and ST Commissions and Ministries nationally. Under PM Modi, the BJP granted constitutional status to the OBC Commission. He pointed out that the BJP has an OBC Morcha, a BC Prime Minister, and provides more opportunities to BCs, SCs, STs, and minorities than Congress.
Rao challenged Chief Minister Reddy to prove his commitment to BC interests by stepping down and appointing Minister Ponnam Prabhakar or the Pradesh Congress chief as Chief Minister.
He announced plans to form a new state party committee next week and encouraged party members to work hard to bring the BJP to power in Telangana. Rao assured that the national party would handle any internal disagreements privately, emphasizing that the BJP is like a family that resolves issues internally.
