BC Reservations Ordinance Sent To Union Home Ministry

The Telangana government's ordinance mandating 42% reservations for Backward Classes (BCs) in the State in local body elections has reached the Union Home Ministry.

Governor Jishnu Dev Varma today forwarded the ordinance to the Ministry, seeking legal advice.

He had earlier discussed the ordinance with the Advocate General and several senior lawyers. Following these consultations, the Governor sent the ordinance to the Centre.

The ordinance follows the Telangana Backward Classes (Reservation of Seats in Rural and Urban Local Bodies) Bill, 2025, created for the same purpose and passed by the government in the Telangana Assembly in March 2025, which the Governor approved and sent to the President for final approval. The President is yet to approve it. Given the looming local body elections (the High Court has directed that local body elections in the State be held by September 30) and its own determination to implement the reservations in those elections, the Congress government in Telangana passed an ordinance earlier this month to the same effect.

The ordinance has since been pending with the Governor, for almost three weeks now. The Governor raised several concerns about it, including whether it might violate the Supreme Court's earlier ruling that reservations should not exceed 50%. These concerns were clarified by the Advocate General and legal experts, after which it was sent to the Union Home Ministry for legal advice.